Brother-sister duo hit back at Donald Trump's 'woman card' insult with deck of cards Kickstarter campaign

Republican Donald Trump's recent criticism of rival Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton for repeatedly playing "the woman card" sparked a social media firestorm. "If Hillary Clinton were a man, I don't think she'd get 5% of the vote. The only thing she's got going is the woman's card," he mocked.

Clinton immediately fired back saying: "Well, if fighting for women's health care, and paid family leave, is playing the woman card, then deal me in." She even launched a hot pink "Woman Card," "Deal me In" T-shirts and related products for supporters to pick up to show their support and donate to the campaign.

Inspired by the US presidential frontrunner's misogynistic jab and a tweet suggesting how the Clinton campaign could benefit from it, Iowa-based 24-year-old Clinton supporter Zach Wahls and his sister Zebby raced to create their own humorous response to the remarks – a full deck of playing cards celebrating prominent women in American history called The Woman Card[s].

The brother-sister duo launched a Kickstarter campaign on 28 April with the goal of raising $5,000 in 30 days. They met their goal in just three and a half hours.

"I think we often hear the cards being stacked against women, but this is about reshuffling the deck," Zach told Mic. The cards will be sketched by Zebby, who is finishing a bachelor of fine arts degree course at the University of Iowa, and feature illustrations of Clinton as the ace card and "Lemonade" singer Beyoncé as the queen. It will also include a diverse range of influential women including the Supreme Court justice, Red Cross founder Clara Barton, civil rights icon Rosa Parks and famous American aviator Amelia Airhart.

The siblings say the deck is more than just "a novelty" and a fun take on politics.

"This is about recognition of the accomplishment of these women," Zebby said. "There has to be recognition of what women have been able to achieve despite the odds stacked against them."

The duo have also received a stream of requests suggesting trailblazing women for a future 52-card deck as well, including Oprah, former Nasa engineer Margaret Hamilton and labour activist Dolores Huerta.

According to their Kickstarter page, the project is not affiliated with the Clinton campaign with the proceeds mostly covering production costs. Backers are expected to receive their signed decks and full-size prints of the illustrations by July.

This isn't the first time Zach has been in the media spotlight either. In 2011, Zach spoke before the Iowa House of Representatives about being raised by two mothers when legislators were considering banning civil unions in the state.

"The biggest thing I've learned from that is that you really have no control," Zach told Mashable. "The internet decides what goes viral...but I did know that a big component is being in the right place in the right time."