The organizers of a Muslim peace conference event deleted the faces of all of its female speakers when advertising it.
The Islamic Peace Conference, due to open in in Melbourne, Australia, next month, features 15 speakers – 12 men and three women.
Promotional fliers for the event show photographs of all the men, while the women are shown by a stock photo of a veiled woman, with her face covered by a gray blob:
The event – which notionally costs $30 but is currently offering free admission – is also being advertised online. Its website makes no mention of women speakers, though does mention “sisters only” gender-segregated events.
When challenged over the double standard, conference organizers said Islamophobia was to blame.
A spokesman for the Islamic Research and and Education Academy said they scrubbed out the faces to protect the women from abuse.
Wasseem Tazvi told Daily Mail Australia: “Due to the growing Islamophobia our campaign team wanted to be extra cautious with female guests so they wouldn’t be targeted in the streets.
“So the organisation decided to put their first flier out without images of the female speakers. ”
He said that future material will feature the women’s faces – though Heat Street‘s efforts to find anything so far have proved fruitless.
