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25 Nov

Halima Aden – The Supermodel with a mission

Halima Aden – The Supermodel with a mission

“Muslim girls have their own crown, it’s called hijab”.

Halima Aden’s crown is called hijab, too

She became the first hijab and burkini-wearing supermodel  because she wanted to reclaim identities of Muslim women.

Her face and body could be seen on the cover of the UK Vogue, on the runaway for the top designers from  the fashion weeks in Milan, Paris, New York etc.

Halima Aden changed the  history by becoming the first model to wear a burkini, designed by Tommy Hilfiger

“I’m not a cover girl, I’m Halima from Kakuma. I want to be the reason why girls have confidence within themselves, not the reason for their insecurity.”

Aden was born in a refugee camp in Kenya but when she was 6 years old, her family moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Her childhood in Kenya’s refugee Camp was adventurous from her point of view.

Halima understood that her family faced lack of water, malaria and diseases.

St. Cloud was not a very interesting place.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – MARCH 24 : World’s first hijab wearing US-Somali model Halima Aden holds flowers upon her arrival to attend an exclusive fashion show in Istanbul, Turkey on March 24, 2018. (Photo by Orhan Akkanat/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

It is known for granite quarries and agricultural production but she is very thankful for this incredible tale

As a young girl who entered US not knowing a world of English became an international model and UNICEF activist.

It has never been easy for her to be minority within a minority and labeled as Somali American or Black Muslim.

“As grateful as I am for my incredible journey, I can’t turn a blind eye to the hardships I experienced as a refugee.

After all, those same hardships taught me the qualities that define me today: resilience and tenacity.

Having friends doesn’t change the fact that we were displaced from our home country, and longed to find safety and routine”

Halima Aden wanted to be authentic

and more confident to wear her hijab as a special model from the East

In the beginning of her career as a model, she had a suitcase with a lot of hijabs, long skirts and long dresses.

Halima Aden walks the CR Runway x LuisaViaRoma at Piazzale Michelangelo during the Pitti Immagine Uomo 96 on June 13, 2019 in Florence, Italy. / Getty Images /

Aden’s  three-year modeling contract promised a private changing box during shows and shoots.

“The last two years, I trusted the team on set to do my hijab and that’s when I ran into problems, like jeans being placed on my head in place of a regular scarf.

The way they styled it, I was so far removed from my own image.

My hijab kept shrinking and got smaller and smaller with each shoot.”

She couldn’t compromise her beliefs in the name the fashion

Her mother often said to her that:

“The sun doesn’t lose its beauty when covered by the clouds.

The same way your beauty doesn’t fade when being covered by Hijab.”

In November 2000 Aden shocked fashion world with her decision to quit working as a model, because of her religious beliefs and fear that she had lost her identity

“They could call me tomorrow and not even for $10 million would I ever risk compromising my hijab ever again.”

 Very soon Aden announced the she got a new role in fashion – global brand ambassador and designer for Modanisa.

”Don’t change yourself, change the game that was exactly what I was doing.”

Read more inspiring stories for meaningful women here.