A new photo collaboration between Getty Images and a website for Muslim women is seeking to change the perception of women in Islam.
The project between the photo licensor and MuslimGirl.com was launched last month and includes a collection of diverse images of Muslim women and girls that go beyond the head-to-toe burqa.
“One of the ways I open up my talks is by asking the audience to search ‘Muslim women’ images on their phone browsers, which is always met with their awe at the unsettling results,” Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com, said in a statement. “I don’t want to be able to use that example anymore.”
The collection includes pictures of racially and ethnically diverse Muslim women and girls — with and without hijab — doing everyday things at home, at work, and at play. Activities featured in the images include roller-skating, exercising, eating take-out, working on a computer, taking selfies, laughing with friends, and more.
All the women and girls in the photographs are actually Muslim, according to MuslimGirl.com, and the photographer is a Muslim woman, Jenna Masoud.
“Visual literacy is so prolific with today’s generation, and photos are now absorbed and processed by culture with unprecedented immediacy," Pam Grossman, director of visual trends at Getty Images, said in a statement noting that searches on GettyImages.com for “Muslim” have gone up 107 percent during the past year.
"Because of this, positive imagery can have a tremendous impact by fighting stereotypes, celebrating diversity, and making communities feel empowered and represented in society,” she added.
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