• Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Halima Aden Tells Young Women: ‘Don’t Be Scared To Say ‘No’ & Don’t Be Scared To Have Standards’
By Shalwah Evans · Updated December 6, 2020
Home · Fashion

Halima Aden Tells Young Women: 'Don't Be Scared To Say 'No' & Don't Be Scared To Have Standards'

By Shalwah Evans·Updated December 6, 2020
The 22-year-old beauty shared keen words during the opening panel at ESSENCE Fashion House NYC.

Human trafficking is a real thing. One should always Google search and fact check. These were the thoughts that swirled through Halima Aden’s mind when she was approached by IMG models back in 2016 after competing in a beauty pageant in Minnesota. It sounds funny now, especially for fashion industry vets who can vouch for the credentials of the well-known agency. But for Aden, who went from a refugee camp in Kenya to a small town in Minnesota, trust didn’t necessarily come easy.

One thing that does come easy for her is joy. And if you’ve spent even just mere minutes in the presence of the ESSENCE January/February 2020 cover star, then you will feel it. It’s partially where her glow originates— (nope, it’s not just Fenty!)

Halima Aden Tells Young Women: ‘Don’t Be Scared To Say ‘No’ & Don’t Be Scared To Have Standards’
LAWRENCE MINER

On Thursday, the 22-year-old traiblazer shared the other reason for her radiance. Speaking with ESSENCE Chief Content & Creative Officer MoAna Luu before a packed house at ESSENCE Fashion House NYC, Aden encouraged young people to be bold.

“Don’t change yourself, change the game baby!” she shouted happily. “And it’s okay to say no. Having standards and the right people that love you, that care for you…they will work with you just the way that you are. You don’t have to conform or fit the mold in order to find success.”

Article continues after video.

Aden didn’t even win that pageant. Yet, it still opened doors for her, and for other models coming behind her. She remembers being afraid as the first hijab-wearing woman in the Miss Minnesota USA competition. The following year, 7 women in hijabs participated. Now, seeing a model in a hijab is becoming normalized. Her insistence on standing in her truth and being willing to forgo certain opportunities in order to do that is what has led her to her current success.

“As young people, we have to go and just enter a space,” she said. “Even if you don’t see somebody who looks like you in that field, be that person. Beauty is how you define it. You don’t need to sit and wait for someone to represent you. You go!”

Halima Aden Tells Young Women: ‘Don’t Be Scared To Say ‘No’ & Don’t Be Scared To Have Standards’
Lawrence Miner

Of course, having Rihanna as an ally also doesn’t hurt. That, and her steadfast attitude and passion for life, which led her to become the first model to wear a burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. As a trailblazer, she’s changing designers’ minds. She’s shifting perspectives. She’s opening up doors.

And, she’s giving back through her work with UNICEF.

“Fashion is not the world I come from. But I did know UNICEF and so I was like, ‘if I’m going to model, I really want to combine it with activism,'” she said. “When somebody helps you when you’re at your lowest, you want to remember them now that life has gifted you. It can’t just be a blessing for you to keep; you want to spread it. I never expected to become a UNICEF ambassador. I was like ‘Am I even worthy?’”

Halima Aden Tells Young Women: ‘Don’t Be Scared To Say ‘No’ & Don’t Be Scared To Have Standards’
Photo by Lawrence Miner

Above all else, the 22-year-old beauty credits her success to her mother, her sisters, her girlfriends from elementary school, and the women who have held her up and supported her through the years.

Model Citizen Panel with Halima Aden

Join us LIVE at #ESSENCEFashionHouse for a conversation with our Chief Content and Creative Officer MoAnA Luu and ESSENCE cover girl Halima Aden.

Posted by Essence on Thursday, February 13, 2020

“Have good women around you,” she said, in closing. “Women that uplift you, women that mentor you. Women to be the voice of reason and inspire you. I think the biggest secret to success is having powerful women around you.”
—
Watch the full panel conversation above and then be sure to head back to ESSENCE.com for more of everything you missed at ESSENCE Fashion House NYC.

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now