Campaign launches to restore the Australia Day hijab billboard
You have perhaps woken to news this morning that an Australia Day billboard featuring girls in hijabs has been taken down after the owner received threats.The billboard, which went up in Victoria, was designed to celebrate multiculturalism, and featured government logos.It was posted on far-right Facebook pages and many of the comments were vile and racist.
But on social media last night, at least one prominent feminist was asking: why are those girls — (here they are, in the picture they used on the billboard) — in the hijab?
Latest news reports that A crowd-funding campaign to restore a billboard featuring an image of two young girls in headscarves has taken off, receiving more than $6,000 in donations each hour after first launching.
Australia Day Billboards with girls in Hijab removed after controversy and Soon Campaign launches to restore it. 9
In around three hours, the campaign reached its original goal of $20,000.
Launched late Wednesday morning Sydney time, the campaign aims to feature the girls in billboard and print advertisements after a previous billboard in Victoria was taken down following complaints that the girls wore hijabs.
Dee Madigan, executive creative director of Campaign Edge, the agency behind the campaign, told SBS she was surprised by the campaign’s success.
“I’m blown away and very optimistic about Australia when things like this happen,” she said.
Ms Madigan told SBS she was angry when she heard the media company responsible for placing the original ad had caved to public pressure.“You have these people complaining that Muslim’s don’t assimilate and here you’ve literally got a photo of Muslims celebrating Australia Day – you just can’t win.”
