Cover girls: five hijab-wearing Instagram fashionistas from Asia – trendy Muslim women with a following on social media
- Women from Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia offer social media followers a glimpse of their lives, and aim to spread understanding of their fashion and faith
- The ‘hijabistas’ hope to connect with like-minded women around the world
When Anna Belle Francis, at the time an actress and television personality, made the decision to wear the hijab, the head covering many Muslim women wear, there was one thing she was not prepared for – Singapore’s hot climate.
“I remember that day vividly. We were invited to [the] Universal Studios [theme park], and boy, what a challenge I faced with the weather,” says Francis, who converted to Islam when she married hip-hop artist Sheikh Haikel.
Since then, she has frequently posted selfies to her Instagram account @belleamafia – where, she says, she has been “overwhelmed by the support” received from her family and followers in the Muslim community. According to a study by global marketing communications company J. Walter Thompson, a growing number of Muslim women in Southeast Asia wear the hijab. Young and tech-savvy, many of these hijabistas – a play on the term fashionista – are taking to Instagram to share snapshots of their lives and to connect with like-minded women around the world.
“My [social media] platforms are really about me and what I'm going through in my life,” says Francis. “The positive responses have empowered me even more to represent and stand for what I fundamentally believe in.”
