KUALA LUMPUR: Now that popular TV host and entrepreneur Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor has decided to wear the niqab, she bids "goodbye" to some 4,000 photos of her veilless self on Instagram.
These photos include those showing her attending several fashion shows in Malaysia and overseas over the last few years, when she modelled for several fashion brands.
A recent visit to Neelofa's Instagram account revealed that the 31-year-old celebrity who is reported to be engaged to preacher PU Riz or Muhammad Haris Ismail, had reduced the number of photos displayed from 7,568 to 2,648.
The only photos left in her account were those taken during her pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia last year, as well as photos of herself with family members and her business activities.
Most of these photos showed her in the niqab, while the others consisted of religious and spiritual messages.
Netizens praised Neelofa for erasing the 4,000-odd photos, and described her as a courageous Muslim woman who truly wanted to change for the better.
"May we all be blessed like Lofa, to do good in this world and the next," said Atiqah.
"A very wise and bold decision Lofa. God bless you," said Farah.
In a recent Instagram video, Neelofa told Perempuan Tanpa Dosa actress Uyaina Arshad that she felt freer and happier since donning the niqab.
"I love it, and I'm a lot happier and freer now," she said.
Neelofa started wearing the niqab on Oct 15, and her decision greatly pleased her mother Datin Noor Kartini.
On Oct 30, Neelofa who has eight million Instagram followers said that she had chosen to sacrifice beauty for the reward promised in the afterlife.
"Every woman wants to look pretty and that is the nature of most women. So it was not easy for me to come to the decision to wear the niqab. I know it would mean having to forgo what I love most, which is to indulge in beauty," she said.