This 15 Year Old Saudi Teen Has Started A Campaign To Introduce A Hijab To The Emoji World

Saudi Arabian-born teen, Rayouf Alhumedhi has created a proposal for a new emoji that will represent the 550 million women around the world who wear a hijab.

The 15 year-old, who now lives in Germany, initially approached Apple with her concerns of the lack of emoji to represent her, but got no response. She then came across a non profit company called Unicode which is responsible for reviewing and developing new emojis.

The idea has since gained the backing of Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit. If she is successful, the emoji will be available from 2017.

“Women all across the globe choose to wear the headscarf because of its evident indication of their faith and identity. However, the hijab stretches much further than a piece of cloth on your head. It also influences the way you talk, the way you act and ultimately, your lifestyle. To say it’s an integral aspect of women’s lives is an understatement,”

Rayouf Alhumedh

To boost the support of the initiative Alexis Ohanian started an online discussion on Reddit