shots for Playboy.Until now, Sila Sahin, a 25-year-old Turkish German
living in Berlin, had been regarded as a glowing example of how a
modern Muslim girl should behave in a multicultural society.
A successful actress starring in German television soap opera Good
Times, Bad Times, she pleased her many fans and made her Turkish
family proud.
But her latest move has outraged her family and Muslim fans, reports
the Daily Mail.
Posing provocatively on the cover of German Playboy magazine with one
breast exposed, Sahin seems to be sending a clear and deliberate
message to her conservative Turkish family. "I did it because I wanted
to be free at last. These photographs are a liberation from the
restrictions of my childhood," she said.
Her family has, unsurprisingly, reacted with horror, and her mother
has cut off all contact with the actress. "My mother is still angry.
It will be even more difficult with my grandparents, my aunts and my
uncles," she said on the website devoted to her television soap.
She has, however, managed to talk to her actor father, who expressed
concern over the pressure she will inevitably face from the Muslim
community.Sahin's declared intention was to use the controversial
Playboy photoshoot as a call to action for other Turkish girls who
suffer the effects of their strict backgrounds, where women's choices
are often limited, husbands are chosen for the girls and chastity
closely controlled.
Her message to these girls?"For too long I tried to do everything
right. I want these photos to show young Turkish women it's okay for
you to live however you choose," she said.'Many of my countrymen think
it's great that I can be so free. With the shoot I hoped to say to
them that we do not necessarily have to live under these rules given
to us," she added.
In what is undeniably a groundbreaking move, Sahin is the first
Turkish woman ever to strip for the cover of Playboy. Indeed, in the
12-page article that accompanies the revealing photographs, Sahin says
she feels 'like Che Guevara', adding that the semi-naked photo shoot
was a bid to express her freedom.
'My upbringing was conservative. I was always told, you must not go
out, you must not make yourself look so attractive, you mustn't have
male friends," she told Playboy. "I have always abided by what men
say. As a result I developed an extreme desire for freedom. I feel
like Che Guevara. I have to do everything I want, otherwise I feel
like I may as well be dead," she added.
But despite her bold move, Sahin wants her family forgiveness."I hope
you can forgive me. Please let me come home," she said in an emotional
TV interview.
more pictures at http://tinyurl.com/43onpdm
