Oxford University apologizes over 'offensive' International Women's Day gaffe
A cleaner was seen scrubbing International Women's Day graffiti
A cleaner was seen scrubbing International Women's Day graffiti
A cleaner was seen scrubbing International Women's Day graffiti
Oxford University has apologized after a female cleaner was asked to remove "Happy International Women's Day" graffiti from the steps of its Clarendon Building.
The offending moment was caught on camera by Oxford Professor, Sophie Smith, who shared the image on . The photograph shows a woman mopping away the celebratory words, while a group of male security officers stand above her.
She captioned the picture, "Oxford security makes a woman cleaner scrub out “Happy International Women’s Day” on the Clarendon steps. What an image for , . "
The post was retweeted 13,000 times and received 17,000 likes, with numerous others expressing their annoyance. The hallowed institution swiftly apologized on , saying "this should not have happened".
Smith responded saying that the university should offer a "heartfelt apology" to the woman who was forced to clean the graffiti.
For celebrations of International Women's Day from across the world, check out the video above.