Nura Afia, 24, is the first hijabi to be featured by CoverGirl in a new national ad campaign called Lash Equality. In this interview with Cosmo, Ms. Afia talks about her experience as a CoverGirl spokeswoman and model, and how her life has changed since the ads started running in November. Here are some snippets:
– On the experience: “It’s been mostly positive. It’s a breath of fresh air for everyone. As long as I’ve been alive, I don’t think I’ve seen a hijabi in any type of commercial on U.S. television. A lot of people were intimidated and scared when Trump was elected and the response I saw to the campaign was very positive. Dan Rather reposted an article about it. It made people hopeful.”
— On The American Muslim community’s response: “Everyone is happy that we’re getting represented in a positive way instead of just bad all the time.”
— On wearing the hijab and makeup: “There are people that’ll say I shouldn’t be wearing makeup because it’s very contradictory to what hijab is. Hijab isn’t just covering up, it’s a way of life. It’s a way of being. It’s how you should treat people.”
