Facebook Post Asks Muslim Men To Cover Their Women, Activists Hit Back With International Day Of Mini Skirt

A recent Facebook campaign, calling women to dress modestly has attracted disparate reactions. The campaign called out to men to make their female relatives go covered in public and also cited verses from the Quran to bolster their posts. But the social media has hit back with the International Day of the Miniskirt.

According to the Facebook campaign, launched from Algeria, Islamic Hijab and modest clothing protected women from unwanted attention. It called for Muslim men to make sure that all their female relatives are suitably covered. The Facebook campaign “Be a man and don’t let your woman out in revealing clothes” has attracted thousands of likes and also backlash from activists. The posts had Quranic verses and had pictures of toddlers in hijab.

Few posts compared women with objects and this has raised red flag among the activists. One post had pictures of a clean covered lollipop and the uncovered ant laden one with a caption “you can’t stop them, but you can protect yourself.” Another image compared a women’s body to that of a peeled banana.

Woman activists have taken umbrage to these views and a strong reaction has come from Tunisia, a country which is known for its modern views on woman’s right. Tunisian woman rights campaigner, Rachida Ben Othman, led an on-line counter attack by calling for an “International Day of the Mini Skirt.” Women have told BBC that the campaign was offensive and demeaned women. "It had to make the same point, they chose the veil as a piece of clothing and we chose the miniskirt,” said a campaigner who wished to remain anonymous.

The Miniskirt event Facebook page was briefly taken down, but has been reinstated. The campaigners are asking all women around the world to post selfies in their miniskirt on June 6 to show solidarity. The “Be the man” campaign had attracted severe criticism in the social media and has also polarized opinion in the Arab world.

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