From refugee camp to runway, hijab-wearing US model breaks barriers and helps the headscarf go mainstream
Halima Aden has had a whirlwind year since coming to prominence as a beauty pageant contestant, but she’s taking it in her stride
Roughly one year ago, Denise Wallace, executive co-director of the Miss Minnesota USA pageant, received a phone call from 19-year-old Halima Aden asking if she could compete in the contest wearing her hijab.
“Her photo popped up and I remember distinctly going, ‘Wow, she is beautiful,’” Wallace said.
The Somali-American teen made headlines as the first hijab- and burkini-sporting contestant in the history of the pageant. The bold move catapulted her career to new heights involving many “firsts”, including being the first hijabi signed by a major modelling agency.
“I wear the hijab every day,” Aden, who was in New York for Fashion Week, said.
The hijab – one of the most visible signs of Islamic culture – is going mainstream, with advertisers, media giants and fashion firms promoting images of the traditional headscarf in ever more ways.
She is someone who is so amazingly representative of who we are as America