1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
India electionsIranIsrael-Hamas war

Muslim women respond to 'traditional submissiveness' comment

Francisco PerezJanuary 27, 2016

Muslim women are tweeting their achievements to David Cameron, after he allegedly said their "traditional submissiveness" can lead to young men's radicalization. Cameron's comments were met with criticism online.

https://p.dw.com/p/1HkkZ
Screenshot Twitter Cameron Muslimische Frauen
Image: Screenshot Twitter

Last week, a British newspaper quoted a comment allegedly made by British Prime Minister David Cameron during a private conversation during which he reportedly said that the "traditional submissiveness of Muslim women" can facilitate the radicalization of young men. The quote came as Cameron's government had made public claims that over a quarter of Muslim women in Britain do not speak good English.

The comment caused outrage on Twitter, where many users responded to Cameron's alleged statement by using the hashtag #TraditionallySubmissive, along with coments or pictures of themselves listing their personal accomplishments.

Other users also took up the hashtag to direct their own attacks at David Cameron. One user accused him of being submissive to multinational corporations:

The British press named author and blogger Shelina Janmohammed as the original source of the hashtag, which they said generated over 30,000 responses in a few hours.