The Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue is the publications most anticipated issue. This years is no different with one exception.
Well known for it’s sexy covers and models showing bronzed toned bodies in teeny tiny bikinis, this issue will for the first time feature a Muslim woman.
Somali-American model Halima Aden, who we’ve seen on the runway at New York Fashion Week as well Kanye West’s Yeezy clothing collection, will proudly be wearing a hijab and burkini on a beach in Kenya where she was born.
"Growing up in the States, I never really felt represented because I never could flip through a magazine and see a girl who was wearing a hijab," Aden said in a video tweeted by the magazine.
The model posted a picture from the shoot wearing a turquoise hijab, long yellow earrings and a deep blue burkini while lying down in shallow water.
View this post on InstagramDon’t change yourself . Change the GAME!! Ladies anything is possible!!! Being in Sports Illustrated is so much bigger than me. It’s sending a message to my community and the world that women of all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings… can stand together and be celebrated. Thank you so much @si_swimsuit & the entire team for giving me this incredible opportunity.
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Halima, 21, 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.