A 27-year-old woman has become the first American TV reporter to work in front of the camera while wearing a hijab full-time.

Tahera Rahman, now works as a reporter for WHBF-TV, a CBS affiliate based in Rock Island, Illinois, which serves the Quad cities. The journalist, from Naperville, Illinois, has worked at the station as a producer for two years and never lost sight of her 'dream' of stepping in front of the camera one day.

When another reporter position opened last year, Tahera, who was once told by a colleague that America wasn't 'ready' for a hijabi TV reporter, applied. Her reel proved to be the best out of the pool of applicants, and Tahera started her new full-time position earlier this month.

Making history: Tahera Rahman, 27, has become the first American TV reporter to work in front of the camera while wearing a hijab full-time

Position: The journalist, from Naperville, Illinois, now works as a reporter for WHBF-TV, a CBS affiliate based in Rock Island, Illinois, which serves the Quad cities

Tahera, who told The Des Moines Register she is 'living her dream', is the first female reporter to wear a hijab while working full-time for a mainstream TV station in the US, the Muslim American Women In Media group said.

The reporter decided to start wearing a hijab full-time when she was in the fifth grade, and initially faced resistance from her mother, who thought Tahera was too young to make such a choice.

'I remember the first day I decided to wear it full-time, because I wouldn't wear it outside of school or anything,' Rahman told the newspaper. 'I walked out of the house and I was like, "Oh my God, no, I'm starting to wear it now," and I ran back in and put it on.'

By wearing the hijab, Muslim women can manifest their faith and abide by the principle of modesty.

Putting in the work: Tahera has worked at the station as a producer for two years and never lost sight of her 'dream' of stepping in front of the camera one day

Choices: The reporter decided to start wearing a hijab full-time when she was in the fifth grade, and initially faced resistance from her mother, who thought Tahera was too young

Statements: After graduating college, Tahera sent her reel around, looking for their feedback. This is when one person told her the country 'wasn't ready' to have a hijabi reporter on TV

Tahera went on to attend Loyola University Chicago, a Catholic college, where she joined a sorority.

'I knew there was no one who looked like me who rushed Greek life, but I did because I wanted to,' she said. 'I would show up to formals and Panhellenic events and I would be the only one who wore a headscarf, but it never stopped me, and I still had fun and I still studied abroad and I still traveled with my sorority sisters to Spring Break.'

After graduating college, Tahera, who already had her eyes set on journalism, sent her reel to managers and professors, looking for their feedback. This is when one person told her the country 'wasn't ready' to have a hijabi reporter on television.

'It's those subtle statements that actually have a big impact,' Tahera said. 'It's those little things, those little pebbles that keep pelting you and saying, "Hey, it's not going to work."'

Inspiration: After her colleague's remark, Tahera saw a news story about a fellow hijabi, the first Somali-American legislator to be elected, which gave her hope

Reaching out: Tahera's pioneering career has earned her international support, with people sending her touching messages from Eastern Europe and Sweden

Tahera grew up noticing there was a lack a lot of people looking like her on TV and came of age in the post-9/11 era, when she noticed a shift in the public discourse about Muslim people.

The narrative, she recalled, came to revolve around 'who (Muslims) really are and what they really believe in and whose side they are on?

'That's when I realized they are talking about us, but there is no one who looked like us who can speak to it truthfully,' she said.

Tell me again about how America is not ready for this

After her colleague's remark, Tahera saw a news story about a fellow hijabi, the first Somali-American legislator to be elected.

Ilhan Omar, a former refugee and mother of three, became a Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party member of the Minnesota House Of Representatives in November 2016, and Tahera read everything she could about her, thinking: 'Tell me again about how America is not ready for this.'

Tahera's pioneering career has earned her international support, with people sending her touching messages from Eastern Europe and Sweden.

However, she has also faced hateful backlash, which came just a few days after she made her debut on air.

Precaustions: The reporter has also faced hateful backlash, which came just a few days after she made her debut on air. Her station has taken measures to ensure her safety

On the job: Tahera now intends to keep reporting while wearing her hijab, and hope her work and talent, rather than her headscarf, will soon become the story

An anti-Islam website wrote a post about her new job at the station, prompting people to share vicious comments such as 'Just take the rag off your head and be a good American and enjoy your job.'

Others declared their intention to write letters asking WHBF-TV to take Tahera off the air.

The station has taken measures to ensure the reporter's safety.

Her colleagues have given her a warm welcome with a special segment introducing her to viewers and retracing her journey so far, also commending her for her 'great' work as a producer.

Meanwhile, Tahera has received supportive notes, including from viewers in Raleigh, North Carolina, who sent her their 'encouragement' and hoping she would continue her 'successful journey'.

'We know it is hard sometimes to be different from what other people consider "the norm" but we have found that being different is a strength,' the couple added.

Tahera now intends to keep reporting while wearing her hijab, and hope her work and talent, rather than her headscarf, will soon become the story.

'I want to be like I was born and raised here and I wear it, so I am where I belong,' she added. 'And you have to deal with it because this is my America, too.'