Muslim YouTuber Dina Torkia — better known to her over 800,000 subscribers as Dina Tokio — recently announced her personal choice to stop wearing the hijab “full-time”, spurring a tirade of online abuse. Trolls took to social media to post a barrage of offensive and hateful comments underneath her uploads.
In response to the backlash, the 29-year-old mother of two uploaded a 47-minute video entitled “The Bad, The Worse, and The Ugly” on Tuesday, in which the British-Egyptian blogger read out some of the most horrific and shocking messages users had written about her, including attacks against her family. The video, which has amassed over 600,000 views at the time of writing, has sparked an intense discussion about cyber-bullying.
In light of the onslaught of slander, Torkia has since received a stream of supportive messages from users who took to the video’s comment section to stand up for her. One wrote: “This was so hard to watch, I could only watch a few minutes of it. Dina, can I just say that it takes a very strong person to read these awful comments and not let them get to you.” Another user added: “Your bravery is inspiring. How you manage to remain composed whilst reading these comments amazes me. Thinking of you Dina!”
The YouTuber has previously explained to her followers that “the best thing for me personally is not to commit to the hijab daily like I have done for the past 20 years.” She added that she “still believes in head-covering as part of her modesty” and that it will “always be a part of her and her heritage, religion, and culture.”
The UK-based influencer’s popularity came through videos she posted of creative scarf styling tips and inspiration. She has amassed a loyal legion of fans on social media, launched a fashion line, and published her own book entitled “Modestly”.
You can watch the full video below.
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