Muslim supermodel Halima Aden poses in hijab, burkini for Sports Illustrated

The 21-year-old became the first swimsuit model to wear a burkini for the magazine, which is best known for its racy covers of clad bikini models.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

01 May, 2019

The 21-year-old became the first swimsuit model to wear a burkini for the magazine [Getty]

Somali-American model Halima Aden graced the cover of Sports Illustrated for the magazine's annual swimwear issue wearing a hijab and burkini.

Aden's rookie spread was set on the Watamu Beach in Kenya, where she was born in a refugee camp and lived until the age of seven.

The 21-year-old became the first swimsuit model to wear a burkini for the magazine, which is best known for its racy covers of bikini-clad models.

Sports Illustrated posted a picture of her posing lying down in shallow water, wearing a turquoise hijab, long yellow earrings and a deep blue burkini - the full-length swimsuit favoured by some Muslim women.

"Being in Sports Illustrated is so much bigger than me," Aden wrote as she shared the magazine cover on her Instagram account.

"It's sending a message to my community and the world that woman of all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings… can stand together and be celebrated."

Twitter Post

Halima made headlines at age 19 when she was the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA Pageant, where she made the semi-finals in 2016.

She has previously featured on the cover of British Vogue and walked on the New York Fashion Week runway.

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