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The first magazine to offer Muslim girls in the United States a chance to tell their stories and remove widespread stereotypes has been launched. “The girls are eager to have their stories told,” says Ausma Khan, editor of Muslim Girl Magazine. The first cover girl is Wardah Chaudhary, 16, of Tulsa, Oklahoma. “Her perseverance and energy won her the honour,” the editor said. In her essay, Chaudhary talked about her Pakistan-born parents, her life growing up in Oklahoma and her activities. She appears on the magazine’s cover wearing a red and white head covering, with tiny red, white and blue stars on her right cheekbone. “One thing I know for sure is that I am not behind in anything just because I wear hijab,” she says. “To all the girls that are reading this, I want them to know to be proud of who you are.” The magazine is out with a 25,000-copy premier issue and expects its circulation to be four times that, in two years.
The magazine’s editor said, initial circulation efforts concentrated in areas known to have large Muslim populations, including New York, Jersey City, New Jersey, Dearborn, Michigan, Chicago, Los Angeles and some areas of Texas. The publisher, ExecuGo Media in Toronto, will also distribute the magazine in Ontario and Toronto.
There are between six to seven million Muslims in the US, making up three percent of the country’s 300 million population. The January/February issue also has articles on a Muslim female basketball team and a noted Muslim woman health researcher.
It even tries to keep in touch with them through its website to help them overcome social, ethical and health problems they face.A survey of Muslim teen girls done for the magazine found out that they mainly go to public school, watch a bit too much television, read teen magazines and surf the Internet - a profile matching most American teens.
(www.muslimmagazine.com) publisher@muslimgirlmagazine.com
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