The congresswoman called it « an unapologetic display of the fabric of the people in this country. »
Democratic representative for Michigan’s 13th district, Rashida Tlaib, has created a social media storm having worn a traditional Palestinian robe for her swearing-in ceremony which took place Thursday.
Tlaib—the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress—donned her embroidered red and black robe for the ceremony, laying her left hand on a Quran to take her oath of office. Photos of the ceremony prompted many Palestinian-American women to show off their own traditional robes in solidarity with the Michigan congresswoman.
Read More: Who is Rashida Tlaib? First Muslim woman elected to congress will be sworn in on Quran, wearing a traditional Palestinian gown
Tlaib gave a preview of the thobe garment in a photograph posted to Instagram in December. She wrote on the Elle website that people from across the country got in touch to voice their support for her expression of cultural pride.
Fellow Palestinian-American Susan Muaddi Darraj decided to create a campaign supporting Tlaib, using the hashtag #TweetYourThobe and calling on other Palestinian-Americans to upload images of them in their traditional garments too.
