Twitter has introduced a setting that enables Arabic-speaking female users to be addressed by the platform using feminine grammatical gender.
The new setting replaces the default, masculine “Gharrid” (Tweet) verb with “Gharridi,” its feminine form in Arabic.
The move comes as part of Twitter’s push for inclusiveness and diversity, and it is the first of its kind across current social media platforms, according to Twitter.
“We want our service to reflect the voices that shape the conversations that take place on our service,” Rasha Fawakhiri, the head of communications for Twitter in the MENA region, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Fawakhiri revealed that Twitter has plans to introduce new gender-neutral options to the platform in the future.
How to Enable It
The gender option can be changed by going to settings on Twitter and changing the display language under the “Accessibility, display, and languages” tab.
There are now two options for Arabic in the language list — Arabic and Arabic (Feminine).
Choosing Arabic (Feminine) not only changes how the Arabic “Tweet” button is spelled but also changes other words on the platform, such as “Istakshif” (Explore), to their feminine form (Istakshifi).
