Apple's latest hijab emoji causes Twitter frenzy

Many criticised Apple for deciding to launch separate emoji for Muslim women

In honour of Monday’s World Emoji Day, Apple announced that it is working on a hijab emoji and will make it available to iPhone users by the end of this year, reported The Huffington Post.

As an attempt to allow iPhone users to fully express themselves without having to rely on century old tactics, the emoji has been in the works for some time now. Fifteen-year-old Rayouf Alhumedhi submitted a proposal to Unicode in September 2016, pointing out that there was no image that represented her.

The hijab emoji, however, is not the only new emoji that Apple is launching. According to an Apple press release, others include those for breastfeeding, a sandwich, as well as a T-Rex.

Twitteratti took this opportunity to ask Apple CEO Tim Cook for other emojis after he announced the upcoming ones on Twitter.

😀🌎🌍🌏📆 Happy #WorldEmojiDay! 🎉 We’ve got some 😎 new ones to show you, coming later this year! 👀👇 https://t.co/xBR9ZJ7l4g pic.twitter.com/fhDrr4J5KG

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) July 17, 2017

Any redheads yet..? We need to add redheads to the lineup 🙄 #WorldEmojiDay

— Craig Brown (@SpaceCraigUK) July 17, 2017

https://twitter.com/BieberAlanFan/status/886967789239635970

We Need A Cannabis Emoji
Please Tim Cook
You're Our Only Hope
😱 pic.twitter.com/DE7k6gFdJa

— Stop Repeating History (@PoliticalGaffe) July 17, 2017

"The new Emojis make it easier for users to express themselves with greater diversity, additional animals and creatures, new smiley faces and more," Apple said in a statement.

Owing to the Islamophobic side of the audience, however, the announcement did not go without facing backlash. People expressed their disagreement over the fact that Apple might launch a separate emoji for Muslim women.

https://twitter.com/1RTFULDODGER/status/886991090158620674

the hijab is a symbol of oppression. by including it as an emoji you are showing your support for the oppression of women.

— Joeymp (@joeymp123) July 17, 2017

https://twitter.com/rickthe_elder/status/887010743018602496

There isn’t an emoji for fear-mongering so they had to resort to other ways to get their points across, according to RawStory.

Others were much more accepting and appreciated the emojis as a way to cater to a more diverse global population.

Go for it! 'Tis the world we live in. #HijabEmoji.

— Klaatu Baradu Nikto (@torkhan) July 17, 2017

#hijabEmoji Exposure really is a first step towards acceptance https://t.co/NGrQWPHNqQ

— HyperZen (@MePlayingGames) July 17, 2017