#Mosquemetoo launched on Twitter to denounce the sexual harassment of Muslim women during the Hajj pilgrimage is going viral.
ADVERTISEMENTMuslim women are rallying behind the hashtag to share their experiences of sexual harassment during the Hajj pilgrimage and in other religious settings.
#Mosquemetoo was started by Egyptian-American feminist and journalist Mona Eltawy, who has been sharing her experiences on social media.
She first spoke out about being sexually assaulted during the Hajj pilgrimage at the age of 15.
The hashtag follows #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc (‘out your pig’) and has become one of the top trends on Farsi Twitter.
It has prompted many women to share their stories of being groped and inappropriately touched in crowds during the Hajj pilgrimage.
An estimated two million Muslims undertake Hajj to the holy city of Mecca every year.
Many women have also challenged the idea that wearing the hijab keeps women safe from assault and harassment.
In Islam women are encouraged to cover their hair and body in public in order to preserve decency and keep themselves safe from male attention and from harassment and assault.
In January women in the Iranian capital Tehran removed their hijabs in protest against the country’s mandatory Islamic dress code.