Muslim model Halima Aden: ‘Not even for $10 million would I ever risk compromising my hijab again’ 

Halima Aden, the Hijabi model who appeared on the catwalk for Max Mara and on the cover of British Vogue, has spoken out about the regrets she feels at compromising her beliefs to further her fashion career.

Aden, who moved to the US with her Somali parents as a baby, having been born in a refugee camp in Kenya, has been widely hailed as a role model for diversity and modest dressing in the fashion industry. But in a thoughtful series of posts on Instagram Stories, she reveals how uncomfortable she has become, stating that she will now be putting ‘deen over dunyaa’, an Islamic term describing prioritising religion over other influences. 

‘Fashion loves to use and discard humans as if they are disposable. Before it ever got to that point, Allah opened my eyes,’ writes Aden, who appeared on the cover of British Vogue’s May 2018 New Frontiers issue as part of a group of models ‘changing the face of fashion’. 

Now she has declared that she will ‘never [be] doing runway shows again, as ‘it never sat well in [her] spirit]’ and she will never be travelling for the biannual fashion weeks in Paris, London, Milan or New York as ‘that’s where all the bad energy came from’. She adds that ‘they could call me tomorrow and not even for $10 million would I ever risk compromising my hijab again’.

Aden praises her mother for guiding her back to her religious values, writing that, ‘my mom asked me to quit modelling a long time ago. I wish I wasn’t so defensive. Sis was literally the only person who had the purest intentions for me.’

Since her debut in 2017, Aden has evolved the boundaries she will work within, progressing from wearing a black hijab at all times, to taking part in editorial shoots which show her head covered in different ways, such as in a November 2017 shoot for US Harper’s Bazaar which shows her recreating Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. 

‘I wish I never stopped bringing my black hijab to set, because the minute I got comfortable… well, let’s just say I got too carried away,’ Aden writes. ‘I was just so desperate back then for any “representation” that I lost touch with who I was.’

She describes ‘sobbing’ after shoots where she knew she had compromised on her values. ‘I can only blame myself for being naive and rebellious,’ she explains. ‘What I do blame the industry for is the lack of Muslim women stylists.’

Aden’s thoughts contrast with the optimism she expressed early in her career when she hoped to pave the way for more representation of Muslim women in fashion. “I wanted to spread a positive message about beauty and diversity,” she told Business of Fashion as she made her debut at Kanye West’s Yeezy show in February 2017, “and to show other young Muslim women that there is room for them.”

As her star quickly rose, she walked for Max Mara and Alberta Ferretti at Milan Fashion Week later that month. Aden told The Telegraph after her debut season that, “I have strict wardrobe requirements based on my religious and cultural upbringing. I haven't received any pressure to be anything other than myself and for that I am so grateful.”

She added that; “I never knew that a woman wearing a hijab could be a model; it's so exciting”. 

Aden’s fashion fame had divided the hijabi community on social media, some of whom loved seeing their modest clothing choices represented and reflected by mainstream magazines, while others felt that the model had compromised too much. 

When Aden posed for Sports Illustrated wearing a burkini in May 2019, some saw it as an important step in Muslim women’s visibility. But Basma Khalifa, a Muslim fashion stylist and writer, wrote in The Telegraph that, ‘when I saw the cover and caption I thought, “why do you want to belong on a magazine cover that represents everything you personally don’t believe in?” A magazine that objectifies women into their stereotypical category of “sexy” with no real context of anything else but their bodies.’

Now that Aden, whose first break into modelling came in 2016 when she competed for the Miss Minnesota USA title, has opened up about her struggle to reconcile her modelling work with her religious beliefs and Hijab journey, many are praising her honesty. 

‘Halima Aden was already one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Now her hijab story makes her even more beautiful,’ wrote one Twitter user. ‘Halima Aden is an amazing AMAZING role model for Muslim women, hijabis and non hijabis,’ added another. 

Fellow supermodel Gigi Hadid praised Aden for confronting her doubts, writing that ‘it is so important, as a hijabi or not, to self reflect and get back on track with what feels genuine to us’. 

For the wider fashion industry, Aden’s admissions call into question how successful the continued efforts for diversity and inclusivity have been to date, if a woman in her position has felt forced to compromise in order to progress and be successful. 

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