Kazakh blogger Aiym Altynbekova (aeka.posh) has removed her hijab after four years.
Recently, Altynbekova shared the news with her 1.1 million Instagram followers. She explained that she had been veiled for years and completed multiple Umrah pilgrimages during that time.
«Sometimes your path changes, not from fading faith, but from an internal silence that tells you to do something different,» she wrote. «I searched, I read, I tried to be present, but over time, fatigue set in.»
Altynbekova said much has changed since her second child’s birth. She clarified that the fatigue stems from public scrutiny, not from her faith.
«I just want to be myself, without a headscarf, but with the same heart,» she said. «My faith hasn’t gone anywhere. My journey hasn’t ended — it just looks different now. Whether I’ll return to the hijab, time will tell.»
Altynbekova first appeared on social media wearing a hijab in December 2022, joining a wave of influencers at that time who did the same. Back then, she described wearing the headscarf as a conscious personal choice, although social media rumors circulated suggesting that some women were financially motivated to wear it.
