Search
Close this search box.

Model Halima Aden Makes History Wearing Hijab and Burkini on Sports Illustrated Cover

YouTube video

*Somali-American model Halima Aden has become the first Muslim woman to appear in Sports Illustrated magazine wearing a hijab and burkini.

For the swimsuit edition, out in May, Aden rocks several different colorful burkinis, as part of the publication’s “rookie” class for 2019.

The model told the BBC: “Young girls who wear a hijab should have women they look up to in any and every industry. We are now seeing politicians, business women, television reporters, and other successful hijabi women in visible roles and that is the message we need to be sending. The response has been incredible and I’m so honoured that Sports Illustrated has taken the step to showcase the beauty that modestly dressed women possess.”

OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Jay-Z Tells Webster Hall Crowd: ‘Gentrify Your Own Hood Before These People Do’ [WATCH]

The SI photoshoot was held on Watamu Beach on the Kenyan coast with fashion photographer Yu Tsai.

“I keep thinking [back] to six-year-old me who, in this same country, was in a refugee camp,” said 21-year-old Aden. “So to grow up to live the American dream [and] to come back to Kenya and shoot for SI in the most beautiful parts of Kenya – I don’t think that’s a story that anybody could make up.”

In 2016, Aden was the first contestant to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota pageant, Yahoo reports, and the following year, she signed to a major modelling agency, IMG Models.

She was also the first hijab-wearing model featured on the cover of British Vogue.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

History in makinnng @britishvogue @edward_enninful #newvogue

A post shared by Halima (@halima) on

“We believe beauty knows no boundaries,” says SI Swimsuit editor MJ Day.

“I admire Halima, and I consider her an inspirational human for what she has decided to use her platform for and her work with Unicef as an ambassador.

“She is, in my opinion, one of the great beauties of our time, not only outside but inside. When we met, I was instantaneously taken by her intelligence, enthusiasm and authenticity.”

Aden’s Sports Illustrated issue hits newsstands on April 30, and it’s timed with the launch of her new headwear collection collaboration with Modanisa, the report states.

 

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

actor Wendell Pierce
Rashida Tlaib (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades-AP)
Quincy Jones - Getty
HBCU FIRST Look Film Festival
John Sawchak (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via CNN Newsource)
Influencers Beatriz Tavares da Silva Faria (left) and Aline Tamara Moreira de Amorim (right)
DeMar DeRozan - screenshot
Beyonce as Prince - via Instagram
Joel Embiid (Matt Slocum-AP via CNN Newsource)
Breakfast from restaurant - Depositphotos
The Daise Family - Gullah Gullah Island
Read More
Sean Diddy Combs (Reuters-Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
Read More
Denzel and Diddy - GettyImages
Read More
Sidney Starr
Read More
Michael Harry-O Harris - IG screenshot
Read More
Diddy and Wendy - screenshot
Read More
Jamie Foxx - Getty
Read More
Jaguar Wright - via Instagram
Read More
Common visits “The Jennifer Hudson Show''
Read More
Snoop Dogg - via Depositphotos
Read More

POPULAR

actor Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce Calls World Series 'Worst Experience Ever' After Fans Throw Objects at Him
Rashida Tlaib (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades-AP)
Rep. Rashida Tlaib Declines to Endorse Kamala Harris Amid Tensions Over Middle East Policy
Quincy Jones - Getty
Music Icon Quincy Jones Passes Away at 91
HBCU FIRST Look Film Festival
HBCU First LOOK Film Festival Set to Showcase Black Cinema and Cultivate Future Filmmakers | WATCH
John Sawchak (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via CNN Newsource)
A White Man Allegedly Shot His Black Neighbor in Minneapolis - Why Police Waited Days Before Making An Arrest | VIDEO
Influencers Beatriz Tavares da Silva Faria (left) and Aline Tamara Moreira de Amorim (right)
Social Media Influencers Drown from Refusal to Wear Tan-Ruining Life Jackets | VIDEO
DeMar DeRozan - screenshot
They're Not Friends Anymore! Drake Makes His Feelings About DeMar DeRozan Known During Raptors Game | WATCH
Beyonce as Prince - via Instagram
Purple Nasty! Another Look At Beyoncé's Halloween Outfits: A Love Letter to Prince and Apollonia & Nod to Batty Davis | LOOK!
Joel Embiid (Matt Slocum-AP via CNN Newsource)
NBA Investigating Reports That Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid Shoved Columnist | WATCH
1 2 3 8,380