Sports Illustrated Makes History By Featuring A Model Wearing A Burkini And Hijab

The kind of thing you have to look at twice before you believe it.

This year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue will be a little different this time, with the definition of ‘swimsuit’ widened to include the modesty garment known as a burkini. The full-body swimwear is modeled by stunning 21-year-old Somali-American Halima Aden , who was born in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya before moving to the United States aged 7.

While most Americans are used to seeing women wearing skimpy swimsuits in the famous magazine, women across the world have been covering up at the beach for hundreds of years now. This could be for cultural and religious reasons, or simply to avoid catching too much sun.

Modesty was the norm when the first swimsuits were invented in the 19 th century; women in Victorian England would cover themselves from head to toe in billowing robes and dresses. In 1920’s America, women were routinely arrested by ‘swimsuit police’ for baring too much skin, with zealous police officers guarding ‘morality’ by measuring the length of women’s swimsuits to ensure they conformed to regulations.