Muslim Women's Day

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Overview

Muslim Women's Day is a yearly online campaign held on March 27th to amplify Muslim Women's voices and celebrate Muslim women's individual contributions to modern society.

Background

On March 27th, 2017, the website MuslimGirl.com^[6] backed by The Malala Fund launched Muslim Women’s Day celebrate Muslim women and their experiences by giving them space to share stories.^[1]

On March 27th, 2019, Muslim Girl Founder Amani Al-Khatahtbehl was interviewed in Allure^[8] and stated:

"I started Muslim Girl when I was a teenager, after 9/11. A lot of the conversations about the Muslim community were based on the misleading stereotype that Muslim women are oppressed, voiceless, silent, and they need to be liberated, and [people] need to speak on their own behalf. For me, especially as a child witnessing that and growing up in that, it was such a frustrating experience and I felt like I was being erased from my society. So I reacted in the way that any typical millennial would, which is I went online, and I wanted to create the space that I lacked in real life, where we could have the conversations that were relevant to our everyday lives on our own terms and in our own words."

Development

On March 27th, 2019, MuslimGirl prepared for the third annual Muslim Women's Day by posting a video regarding the theme and how someone may celebrate the day (shown below).

It's time to celebrate the third annual #MuslimWomensDay tomorrow (3/27)! Hear from our editor-in-chief xoamani</a> about this year's theme and how you can be involved. RT to share with your friends 🙌🏽💖✨♀ <a href="https://t.co/Gd9xznBaLn">pic.twitter.com/Gd9xznBaLn</a></p>— Muslim Girl (muslimgirl) March 26, 2019

Backlash

On March 27th, 2017, The Daily Caller^[4] posted a poll that asked "What's the best way to celebrate Muslim Women's Day?" with answers like "Quit Islam" (shown below).

What's the best way to celebrate Musllm Women's Day? Make women cover up their faces and bodies, and beat them if they talk to men Keep women from driving or voting or thinking Quit Islam Vote Vlew Results Polldaddy.com

Many Twitter users criticized the Muslim Women's Day. @PrisonPlanet^[7] tweeted, "#MuslimWomensDay – Why are feminists celebrating the veil – a garment Muslim feminist groups have been trying to discard for 100 years?" (shown below). The tweet gained 2,996 retweets and 6,300 likes in two years.

> Paul Joseph Watson @PrisonPlanet #MuslimWomensDay-Why are feminists celebrating the veil a garment Muslinm feminist groups have been trying to discard for 100 years? 11:36 AM-27 Mar 2017

How to Celebrate Guides

On March 27th, Many images of lists made by websites like Broadly,^[5] Bustle^[2] and Muslim Girl are passed around Twitter as a guide on how to celebrate the day. In 2018, @MunroeBergdorf^[3] tweeted a list saying, "Happy Muslim Women's Day. Sending love to all the beautiful women in my life who inspire me endlessly. Forever an ally in burning down islamophobia. MASHA'ALLAH! #muslimwomensday" (shown below). The tweet gained 909 retweets and 1,700 likes in a year.