So, the hijabi emoji is finally coming to the iPhone. What’s so special about having a hijabi emoji? There was a need for it because of the number of women who wear it. Estimates suggest around 550 million Muslim women around the world choose to wear it. However, until now there was no space given to them on a computer’s keyboard.
So What’s the Need for Hijabi Emoji?
It is more than just an icon for many women. In Islam, privacy is vital to a woman’s life. It cherishes some of the essential values of religious identity, privacy, and modesty. It gives protection against the hawkish eyes and woman across the world wear headscarf as they can identify themselves with their faith. It is more than a piece of cloth and signifies the lifestyle that you choose for yourself.
The Girl Behind the Idea
Rayouf Alhumedhi is a girl who was 15 at the time. When she was trying to create a group for her WhatsApp friends, she wanted to represent each girl in the group with an icon or emoji. However, she found out that none of the emojis could describe her.
So, to overcome this problem, she thought to fight it out. She first tried sending an email to Apple about it, but never got a reply. Then she searched for a way to subject an emoji in Unicode. It took her two days to submit that proposal. She got a response from a member Jennifer. Later both of them worked together to see this plan getting to its final stage. She then asked Aphee Messer, a graphic designer from Nebraska to complete the glyph for her.
What Does Hijabi Emoji Change for Muslim Women?
Well, we have seen the headscarf ban in many countries around the world. The Muslim women had faced a lot of discrimination at workplaces and the society in general. The availability of the hijabi emoji would help them better assimilate into the community.
They would be able to claim their real identity without any problems. Also, they would not face any identity crises. Everyone who uses a smartphone will come to know that it is part of their religious beliefs. Many women hope it would help them overcome the prejudice that they face in their societies on a daily basis. However, only time will tell if the use of hijabi emoji will help them express themselves in the best manner possible. The Nike hijab for Muslim sportswomen was a step in the right direction.
