Twitter added a feminine Arabic setting, fixing a language that defaulted to male

Arabic is a gendered language whose grammar defaults to the masculine: Twitter's Arabic interface had always addressed every user as male. For Twitter MENA, competing with Instagram and TikTok in one of its biggest regions, the obvious move was another values campaign about women's voices.

Instead, on 15 June 2021, Twitter launched an 'Arabic (Feminine)' language setting — the first social platform to do so — so verbs like 'tweet' and 'explore' appear in feminine conjugation ('gharridy', 'istakshify'). The launch campaign, built with VMLY&R COMMERCE MENA, invited people and brands to join under #FeminineArabic; adidas, Microsoft, Mastercard and Samsung posted in the feminine form.

The move drew praise from figures like Saudi businesswoman Muna AbuSulayman, alongside some debate over classical grammar. It won the Digital Grand Prix at Dubai Lynx 2022, where the jury praised Twitter for changing its own platform rather than just talking.

Make the product speak to women, literally

A settings change is verifiable and permanent — nobody could dismiss it as virtue signalling.

It converted a linguistic default that half the audience experienced daily into a brand difference.

Brands joining in feminine form turned a product release into a regional cultural moment.

Being first gave Twitter ownership of the idea competitors couldn't copy without looking late.

Inclusion lands harder as a shipped feature than as a message: Twitter made its own interface the proof, and let other brands borrow the change to show support.

The setting won the Dubai Lynx 2022 Digital Grand Prix and Twitter said it was working on feminine forms in more languages; the feature survived the platform's later upheavals as a cited benchmark for inclusive language in tech.