World’s first hijabi supermodel Halima Aden chooses faith over fashion

Agencies
November 29, 2020

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Halima Aden, a model, is taking a step back from the fashion industry to focus on herself and her faith.

“If my hijab can’t be this visible — I’m not showing up,” Aden, 23, wrote on Instagram.

Aden, who was the first model to wear a hijab for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition and walk the runway for labels like Yeezy, shared on her Instagram story this past week that she felt like she had compromised her religious values and beliefs in order to fit in to the fashion industry.

She alluded to being too scared to speak up when she was influenced to change the way she dressed, including how she wore her head scarf.

“Looking back now I did what I said I would never do. Which is compromise who I am in order to fit in,” Aden wrote on the social media platform. “Just remember they call it a ‘hijab journey’ for a reason and it is never too late to reinstate your boundaries.”

The Somali American model was born in a Kenyan refugee camp and first rose to fame in 2016 after competing in her hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant. Since then, she’s been on the covers of American Vogue, Vogue Arabia, Elle and Allure.

There was, she said, struggle and discomfort that went into making many of those images a possibility. She also highlighted moments in which brands had instead covered her hair with pairs of jeans or other ornamental objects rather than her hijab and used heavy makeup on her when she would have preferred a more restrained look that aligned with her modest principles.

She cited confusion, a sense of rebellion and a lack of fellow Muslim representation in the industry as leading factors in her internal battle.

“The pressure was getting unbearable, and I’m sad to say I went through a period of resenting the hijab,” Aden wrote on Instagram.

She went on to write that the pandemic and a break from the industry had led her to realize where she felt she went wrong in her own hijab journey.

Muslim women who choose to don a head scarf often have deeply personal and dynamic relationships with their hijabs, and Aden was met with a wave of support from many who had similar experiences on Instagram and Twitter.

“Halima’s decision to step away from the modeling scene has just reinforced my beliefs,” Aminah Bakhtair, 19, who wrote on social media about her admiration for Aden, wrote in a direct message. “I feel proud of her for taking a stance that many would hesitate to take, and to take back what the Hijab truly means and stand up for the religion of Islam.”

The act of simply wearing a hijab has often been met with discrimination on both a social and bureaucratic level, particularly in Europe. France has banned the hijab in public schools and the public workforce. German chancellor Angela Merkel said in 2016 that full-face veils, sometimes worn by Muslim women as part of their hijab, should be banned.

In the United States, Muslim women have long reported instances of feeling as if they had been discriminated against for wearing their hijabs, and President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries is still in effect.

Asmaa Ali, 23, an observant hijab wearer for much of her life, has experienced Islamophobia both in person and online but said she felt inspired by Aden’s message and tweeted that she found the model’s story “beautiful.”

“The decision to take her hijab more seriously really inspired me to hold on to my faith and be unapologetic about my identity as a Black, Muslim woman,” Ali said. “I think the essence of what Halima was talking about is not necessarily that there’s a right way to wear a hijab or a wrong way to wear a hijab. I think the message is to stay true to yourself.”

Fellow hijabi models like Ikram Abdi Omar also weighed in on how Aden’s public revelation had impacted them.

“Honestly, Halima Aden’s insta story posts brought me to tears and I started looking back on my old pictures on Instagram and I miss that Ikram more than anything,” Abdi Omar shared on her Instagram story.

Rihanna, Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid also reposted Aden’s story on their own Instagrams. Gigi Hadid wrote, “It is so important, as a hijabi or not, to self reflect and get back on track with what feels genuine to us — it’s the only way to feel truly fulfilled.”

Aden and her longtime agency, IMG Models, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. According to her stories on the platform, the model plans to stop doing runway shows and traveling for fashion season.

“I owe no one but Allah SWT,” she wrote — the letters stand for the Arabic phrase “Subhanahu wa ta’ala,” meant to glorify God when mentioning his name. “And y’all can literally kick rocks.”

Also Read: Hijabi Model Halima Adel makes Milan Fashion Week debut

 

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News Network
March 17,2024

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Beltangady, Mar 17: A three-year-old boy was crushed to death under the wheels of an auto-rickshaw in front of his house at Panakaje Mundadi in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada. 

The gut-wrenching tragedy took place on Saturday, March 16 morning when the boy ran out of home to the road. 

The victim has been identified as Kaushik, the son of Chandrashekhar and Usha couple. Their home is situated adjacent to the main road at Panakaje.

It is learnt that the auto-rickshaw failed to notice the boy who suddenly darted towards the road and hit him. 

Even though the injured boy was rushed to a private hospital in Ujire and later to Mangaluru, he breathed his last. 

The Beltangady traffic police have registered a case in connection with the incident.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Bengaluru: Darshan Babu is an engineer who is fond of betting on cricket matches and has been placing major bets on Indian Premier League (IPL) games since 2021. He often borrows money after losing a bet, or to place one when he is short on funds. His 23-year-old wife, tired of the constant harassment by creditors, died by suicide.

Ranjitha was found hanging at her home in Karnataka's Chitradurga on March 18. According to the family, Darshan had racked up a debt of over Rs 1 crore.

He worked as an assistant engineer in the Minor Irrigation Department at Hosadurga and had been ensnared in the realm of IPL betting from 2021 to 2023. This took a major toll on the couple's finances. Allegedly, he had borrowed over Rs 1.5 crore to place bets after his luck ran out and he lost all his money. While he managed to return Rs 1 crore, cops say that he still has a pending loan of ₹ 84 lakh.

Ranjitha married Darshan in 2020. She realised the truth about Darshan's involvement in betting in 2021, claims her father Venkatesh.

In his complaint, Venkatesh said that his daughter was extremely distressed due to the constant harassment by moneylenders and this led to her suicide. He has also named 13 men who had allegedly lent the money.

He said that his son-in-law was lured into betting with a promise of quick money.

"He (Darshan) was not willing to get into betting, but the suspects forced him saying it was an easy way to get rich. They promised to finance his betting activities against some blank cheques as security," he said.

Cops during their investigation found a suicide note, where she detailed the harassment they faced. Darshan and Ranjitha have a two-year-old son.

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