Activist Noor Tagouri wrongly identified in Vogue feature: 'Are you kidding?'

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A Muslim-American journalist and activist says the publishing industry must do better when it comes to diversity and representation after she was mistakenly identified as a Pakistani actress in a Vogue feature.

In November, Noor Tagouri, 24, was asked by Vogue to be a part of a feature for the February issue – an honour she was “over the moon” about, she told BuzzFeed.

However, when Tagouri opened an issue of the magazine for the first time, she realised that she had been identified as Noor Bukhari, a Pakistani actress, director and model.

The moment was captured on camera by her husband, who had been recording his wife’s reaction to her accomplishment.

In the video, Tagouri can be heard saying: “Hold on, stop. They f***ing spelled my name wrong. Are you kidding?”

She later uploaded the video to Instagram, where she expressed her “devastation” over the error.

“I’m SO heartbroken and devastated,” she wrote. “Like my heart actually hurts. I’ve been waiting to make this announcement for MONTHS. One of my dreams of being featured in American Vogue finally came true.

“We finally found the issue in JFK airport. I hadn’t seen the photo or the text.”

After explaining the magazine’s mistake, Tagouri then goes on to state: “My name is Noor Tagouri, I’m a journalist, activist and speaker.”

According to Tagouri, this isn’t the first time she has been misidentified in the media because “misrepresentation and misidentification is a constant problem if you are Muslim in America.”

Vogue has since issued a public apology to both Tagouri and Bukhari for the error, writing: “We are sincerely sorry for the mistake” before acknowledging the misidentification was a “painful misstep.”

“We also understand that there is a larger issue of misidentification in media – especially in nonwhite subjects. We will try to be more thoughtful and careful in our work going forward, and we apologise for any embarrassment this has caused Tagouri and Bukhari.”

Tagouri, who is known for her activism and journalism first became a prominent figure in 2012 when she appeared on TV in a hijab, before launching her campaign #LetNoorShine.

She also earned a feature in the October 2016 “Renegades” issue of Playboy, where she made history by becoming the first woman to pose in a hijab for the magazine.

Following the recent incident, Tagouri uploaded a photo of herself wearing Givenchy from her Vogue photoshoot to Instagram, where she wrote: “Journalist, Activist, Speaker – and constantly, CONSTANTLY talking about the dangers of misrepresentation and misidentification of marginalised communities.

“May we teach, grow, build and LISTEN WITH INTENT from all of our mistakes. It isn’t always easy, but this is why we keep fighting.”