Rawdah Mohamed is a Norwegian- Somali model,

Instagram model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone el ...

, blogger, healthcare professional and activist. She is known for her street style modelling and also regarded as a prominent advocate for the rights of Muslim women. She is currently represented by the model management company

The Society Management The Society Management, or more commonly referred to as The Society or simply just Society, is a talent management and modelling agency based in New York City. It was established in 2013 and serves as the official U.S. division of the Elite Mode ...

. In April 2021, she started the hashtag campaign #Handsoffmyhijab, which became trending in social media.

Biography

Rawdah was born in Somalia and started wearing a headscarf at the age of seven. She moved to Norway with her family at the age of eight and pursued her primary education. In Norway, she was subjected to racism, abuse, and bullying by her fellow school classmates especially for wearing a hijab and for her skin colour.

Career

She initially pursued her career as a social media personality and now has over 200,000 followers on Instagram. In addition, she had served as a healthcare professional working with children who were affected with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. Rawdah has also worked as a behavioral analyst dealing with mentally disabled people. She had engaged in modelling campaigns in Arab style prior to engaging as a model in various western fashion shows such as Oslo Fashion Week,

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...

Copenhagen Fashion Week Copenhagen Fashion Week is an international fashion event in Copenhagen, Denmark. This biannual event is organized by the Danish Fashion Institute. History The first Copenhagen Fashion Week was held in 2006, following the merger of the Danish cl ...

and Norwegian celebrity gala Kjendisgallaen. She pursued her international street style career at the Oslo Fashion Week in August 2019,which was deemed as a turning point in her modelling career where she adapted to western style of modelling. During Oslo Fashion Week 2019, she was acknowledged for her intriguing street style. Rawdah revealed that she faced humiliation and rejections, especially in the fashion industry, whereas clients were hesitant to give her opportunity to feature in Paris Fashion Week citing outrage and backlash from French politicians. She made her maiden appearance on a magazine cover in August 2019 when she appeared on the cover of Norwegian fashion magazine Costume Norge. Since then, Rawdah has also appeared in front pages of prominent publications and editorials such as ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' and ''V Magazine'' in US as well as Arab editions. She also notably took part in social media protest against the French Senate's decision to ban Muslim girls under the age of 18 from wearing a headscarf in public places by initiating hashtag campaign #Handsoffmyhijab. She posted her selfie on Instagram with the phrase "hands off my hijab" being written on her hand, criticising the proposed

French ban on face covering The French ban on face covering is the result of an act of parliament passed in 2010 banning the wearing of face-covering headgear, including masks, helmets, balaclavas, niqābs and other veils covering the face, and full body costumes and '' ...

for minors. In May 2021, she was officially named as the editor of upcoming magazine Vogue Scandinavia, which is set to be launched soon. She will thus become the first hijab-wearing editor of colour for a fashion magazine.

Controversies

She was mainstream media attention in Norway when she posted a series of negative comments towards

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

as responses to the news of her death. Mohamed announced that she was celebrating the Queen's death, and followed up with a number of offensive outbursts directed at the Queen, who had just passed away.

References

{{Authority control Living people Norwegian female models Somalian female models Norwegian women activists Norwegian bloggers Somalian bloggers Norwegian women bloggers Somalian women bloggers Somalian women activists Somalian expatriates in Norway Year of birth missing (living people)