Playboy magazine will feature a Muslim woman in a hijab (head scarf) for the first time in its "Renegade edition" for October. The publication used to be known for its images of nude women – though it no longer does so. The October edition will run a piece on American journalist and activist Noor Tagouri as part of series that focuses on men and women "who are not afraid to break the rules".
Tagouri, a 22-year-old journalist of Libyan origin, is featured as a "badass activist" wearing a black jacket, jeans, sneakers and a hijab. However, the publication's decision has drawn mixed reactions. While some have praised her decision as an "epitome of feminism", others have slammed her for "appearing in a magazine that has profited off the sexualisation of women". Conservative Muslims have also expressed their disapproval.
Tagouri said she wants to become United States commercial television's first "hijabi anchor" and is currently working for Newsy, a video news network. She said, "I know what it's like to have the narrative of our community be skewed and exploited in the media." Tagouri said she was challenging the myth that hijab-wearing Muslim women are "submissive and oppressed".
Speaking to BBC, she added, "Live your life as your truest self and encourage others to do the same. We have to live for the 10,000 who have come before us, who have made it easier for us to get to where we are today, but also for the 10,000 coming after us, so we can continue to break barriers and glass ceilings and reclaim our power."
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