Rawdah Mohamed says she is trying to fight against “deeply rooted stereotypes” against Muslim women.
Earlier this month, the 29-year-old Somali-Norwegian model posted a selfie on Instagram with “hands off my hijab” criticising a proposed ban on the garment in France.
The hashtag she used #Handsoffmyhijab then went viral - along with its counterpart #PasToucheAMonHijab, on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok - and thousands of women have been posting similar images in protest against the French senate’s vote to ban anyone under 18 from wearing a hijab in public.
“I started the hashtag as I felt the need to humanise the movement,” Mohamed told the Guardian. “Ethnic minority women are always spoken for. I wished to take back the control of our narratives and tell our stories.”
Rawdah added that the proposed legislation “stems from discrimination and deeply rooted stereotypes against Muslim women”.
Speaking of her experience in the fashion industry, Mohamed claimed she had been rejected for lots of jobs because clients feared a backlash from politicians and the media for featuring a woman in a hijab in advertising campaigns.
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