Have you seen the new Arab emojis?
Courtesy Halla Walla app
Score another one for #womenintech. Two Dubai-based entrepreneurs have set out to show the world that there’s more to the Middle East than, well, the usual cliches associated with the region. Cue the launch of Halla Walla, a new collection of emojis typifying life in the Gulf, or as it’s known locally, the Khaleej.
“We wanted to capture how diverse our society is; we believe it is important to them [for us] to show the rest of the world a side of Arab culture that often gets misrepresented and misunderstood,” said co-founder Yasmine Rasool, and added that she often encounters the word ‘conservative’ in descriptions of the Arab world.
“From Saudi Arabia to Qatar to Kuwait to Bahrain, there are all kinds of differences. This region might be small, but we’ve got bold personalities,” she continued. She and her friend Eriko Varkey realised that the best way to show the world the lighter side of Arabian culture was through an app.
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Karim Mansour