Nancy Isime faces hot backlash for ‘offensive’ movie poster featuring hijab/niqab clad women with guns

Nigerian Nollywood actress Nancy Isime has sparked outrage among the Muslim community in Nigeria after unveiling a movie poster that features women wearing hijab and face veils holding guns in a bank robbery scene.

The poster, which appears to promote her upcoming film, has been widely criticised for its perceived insensitivity and disrespect towards Muslim women.

Many Muslim women have expressed their discontent with the poster, arguing that it perpetuates negative stereotypes and reinforces harmful misconceptions about Islam.

They argue that the depiction of Muslim women engaging in criminal activity while wearing religious clothing is offensive and disrespectful and that it ignores the peaceful and positive values of their faith.

Commenting on the offensive posters, Latifat Adewunmi Jumah, with a Facebook page named Laj Fingers, expressed anger over the offensive posts, stressing that “the niqab/hijab is not an arm robbery attire! The niqab/hijab is not an attire for concealing identity.

She quarried the actress, saying, “If you needed to conceal your identity for a perfect robbery role, you could have used a nose mask or wear a mask, why wear an Islamic attire?”

“I find this offensive. Something needs to be done to stop this people. Niqab/Hijab is not a costume, neither is it a joke,” she concluded.

Femi Adebayo, a Muslim actor from Ilorin who also appeared in the movie’s poster alongside Nancy Isime, was not spared from the intense backlash from the Muslim community on social media. Many questioned his grasp of Islamic values and principles, suggesting that his involvement in the project was at odds with his faith.

A Facebook user, Alfa Shehu, commented, “And one of our brothers from Ilorin is kuku in the movie with them. Hypocrites! It is this same people who will turn around tomorrow and say women in Niqab are doing this and doing that. Awon alarun opolo gbogbo. Anything for clouts and monetisation.”

In response to the perceived offense, numerous Muslims have threatened to file a complaint with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, seeking action against the account responsible for sharing the contentious scene.

The widespread criticism suggests that the poster has caused significant offence and that greater consideration should be given to the impact of such imagery on the Muslim communities, especially women using the hijab and face veil as prescribed by Islam.