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Halima Aden is a Somali-American supermodel. She is known for being the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, where she emerged a semi-finalist. Following her participation in the pageant, Halima received national attention and was signed to IMG Models. She was also the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
She has been featured on notable magazines like British Vogue, Vogue Arabia and Allure. She has been in campaigns for Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Kanye West’s Yeezy brand too.
Lately, The 23 years old wrote on Instagram that the coronavirus pandemic had given her time to stop and think about what her values are as a Muslim woman.
“Being a ‘hijabi’ is truly a journey with lots of highs and lows,” she said.
Talking about accepting modelling jobs that went against her religious views, she said: “I can only blame myself for caring more about opportunity than what was actually at stake.”
She explained that part of the problem was “lack of Muslim women stylists” within the industry who could understand why wearing a hijab was so important.
She narrated the difficulties she has faced in the “toxic mess called fashion.” In the post on Instagram, she talked about skipping prayers, wearing clothes she wasn’t comfortable in and styling her hijab in ways she felt betrayed her values.
Aden also pledged to never take part in runway shows or travel for fashion months again, adding that “that’s where all the bad energy came from.”
They could call me tomorrow and not even for $10 million would I ever risk compromising my hijab ever again,” she wrote.
What do you think about this supermodel’s decision to quit her career on religious issues? Let us know in the comment.
