First Turkish Muslim model strips for Playboy mag

Posing provocatively on the cover of German Playboy magazine with one breast exposed, Sila Sahin seems to be sending a clear and deliberate message to her conservative Turkish family. 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. The Muslim model has upset her family by stripping for a series of saucy shots for Playboy. 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 Playboyphotoshoot 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 photoshoot 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.