Saudi American becomes first model to wear a burkini in Sports Illustrated

Somali-American model Halima Aden has become the first Muslim model to appear in Sports Illustrated magazine wearing a hijab and burkini. She appeared in the swimsuit edition, out in May, wearing a number of different colourful burkinis, The Guardian reports.

The model told the BBC: “Young girls who wear a hijab should have women they look up to in any and every industry.

“We are now seeing politicians, business women, television reporters, and other successful hijabi women in visible roles and that is the message we need to be sending.

“The response has been incredible and I’m so honoured that Sports Illustrated has taken the step to showcase the beauty that modestly dressed women possess.”

Aden was born in Kenya at the Kakuma refugee camp where she lived until she moved to the United States.

The Sports Illustrated team decided to do their photoshoot on Watamu Beach on the Kenyan coast with fashion photographer Yu Tsai.