Naperville Journalist Blazes Trail For Muslim Women

(CBS) – A journalist from west suburban Naperville is the first Muslim woman to report on a television newscast, full-time, wearing a hijab.

Tahera Rahman is a television trailblazer at CBS affiliate WHBF in the Quad Cities.

She's almost a week into her new reporting job.

"It's huge for our community. It's huge for women," her mother, Durdana Rahman, tells CBS 2's Dana Kozlov.

She beams with pride at her 27-year-old daughter's determination and perseverance. She and Rahman's entire family traveled to the Quad Cities to watch her first report last week. It was an emotional moment for all.

"I had faith in her. I wasn't sure if I had faith in America -- if they were ready for her," Durdana Rahman says.

For years, America didn't seem to be. Even as a CBS evening news intern in Chicago, colleagues told Tahera Rahman her headscarf might prevent her from landing an on-air job.

She almost gave up but credits her mom for pushing her onward. Durdana Rahman says her daughter could end up inspiring people from other minority groups.