-Halima Aden is a beauty queen who gained prominence in November for wearing a hijab at the Miss Minnesota USA pageant. She made her runway debut during NYFW, walking for Yeezy and was recently signed by IMG. She was interview by Iman for CR Fashion Book.
-Paris Jackson is the only daughter of Michael Jackson. She recently launched a career as a model and is set to make her acting debut on Lee Daniels' TV show, Star. She was interview by Daniels for CR Fashion Book.
-Both were shot by Mario Sorrenti.
IMAN I think often the West does not understand the history and the privilege of wearing a hijab. They always think of oppression.
HALIMA ADEN Yeah, totally. I always tell them, “Just look around you, there are Muslim women who wear it and Muslim women who don’t.” We have to break the stereotype.
IMAN I’m going to be 62 years old in July. So the Somalia I grew up in—there weren’t so many women who wore hijabs. When I was growing up there, we all wore traditional clothes. Most of the time we didn’t even cover our heads. I’ve heard all types of critiques—as a Somali girl, as a model, as a mom, as a Muslim who does not wear a hijab, marrying a white man, my late husband David Bowie. But you know, I live my truth.
HA I love that.
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IMAN I hear that you want to someday be a United Nations goodwill ambassador.
HA I just think that there’s so much work to be done. I remember when I lived in a refugee camp, it was the people who weren’t Somali, the people who came from Western countries, who helped the most. I remember being six and thinking, I want to be one of those woman because I knew how much they helped us.
IMAN When I went to the refugee camp in Kenya, in 1971, the nongovernmental organizations helped me. They are like angels walking among us. They do so much without any fanfare.
HA Absolutely.
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IMAN What does the support you’ve received mean to you?
HA To me, it represents freedom of choice. A lot of people have the misconception that, as a Muslim woman, I am somehow against women wearing bikinis. No, I want women to feel comfortable and confident in whatever they wear.
IMAN Is there one supporter who really impressed you?
HA I didn’t think about how many different people this would affect. I went in thinking that I want something positive for young Muslim girls. But I’ve heard stories from parents who are Christians, telling me, “Thank you, I want my seven-year-old daughter to know that you don’t have to be half-naked to be beautiful.”
Full interview at the
sourceLEE DANIELS So what does Paris Jackson do?
PARIS JACKSON Right now I’m doing the modeling thing.
LD Well, you got the eyes and the height.
PJ I’ve always wanted to try out acting, but maybe in a couple years. I really believe in activism and I want to do bigger things.
LD Do you believe that’s even possible in the world today?
PJ Yes. I think right now a lot of people are really, really angry. And there are two ways that things can go: it can go really bad, or we’ll see that the “man,” the government, is not doing what it’s supposed to do, and we’ll take it in our own hands. Millennials, people my age, we’re going to run the country in the next few years. We can make this country what we want it to be.
LD I guess my question to you is: is there time?
PJ I’m hoping that this year my generation will get to a point where we will rise up, not in a violent way, but start pushing for more liberalism. This happened with same-sex marriage. We pushed so hard for equality and it happened.
Full interview at the
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