A Minnesota woman is breaking boundaries in the modeling world, becoming the first model to wear a hijab and burkini for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, contrary to her Islamic faith.
Halima Aden, 21, was born in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, but she grew up near St. Cloud, Minnesota. The refugee camp in Turkana is the second largest in Kenya after Dadaab.
The Somali-American model made history back in 2016 for becoming the first fully-covered Muslim woman to compete in the Miss Minnesota pageant.
In an interview, Ms Aden termed her achievement as a 'dream'. She also identifies Kenya as her country of origin despite her roots in the troubled state of Somalia, which has been unstable since 1992.
“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,” Aden told Sports Illustrated during her shoot.
So compelling were her achievements that Congresswoman IIhan Omar, also with roots from Kenya in Dadaab refugee camp, hailed her, adding that the achievement would change the history in Islamic nations.
"Congratulations @Kinglimaa on being the first model to ever wear a burkini in Sports Illustrated! As my fellow Minnesotan and Somali refugee, I am so proud of you for working to get here and to propel the conversation forward," she said on Twitter.
Just like Aden, Ms Omar is substantially breaking records in Washington DC. In 2017, she became the first Muslim to be elected to Congress. During the first sitting, Congress had to amend Standing Orders to allow her wear Hijab during proceedings.