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She was seen as a showcase model of a new industry self-image: Halima Aden, an American model with Somali roots, was discovered in a beauty contest in the USA in 2016 - and liked to be booked in the fashion industry when it came to being culturally open-minded.

Because: The 23-year-old Aden wears a hijab and should represent cultural inclusion in an industry that in recent years has been increasingly accused of promoting socially outdated ideals of beauty.

But now, of all people, the poster girl of the “woken” fashion movement is turning away from the scene.

On her Instagram channel, Aden explained why she would no longer be available for fashion shows in the future: “You could call me tomorrow, but I would not sell my hijab for ten million dollars.

I'd rather work at McDonald's. ”The fashion industry has forced her to compromise her beliefs, Aden wrote, and in numerous posts outlined mistakes she herself had made in the past - including appearances for fashion brands like Dolce & Gabbana, American Eagle or also for “Vogue Arabia”.

For a while she tried to be known as “hot hijabi”, that was wrong and that it contradicted the meaning of a hijab.

Apparently, Aden's mother, who fled Somalia with the family in the 1990s, first to Kenya and then to the USA, encouraged her to decide to give up her modeling career if the jobs were not compatible with her faith: "My mother asked me a long time ago to stop modeling," wrote Aden: "Deen before Duunya", which means something like faith before the world.

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Whether Aden will continue to be available for advertising contracts that better suit her goal of representing Muslim women in society remained somewhat unclear in her posts.

However, she published some photos, for example from a Max Mara fashion show, as positive examples of her career: “That is the standard if you want to work with me.

No less, no more. "

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