Somali Teen Helps Muslim Girls Stay “Cool” With Animal Print Hijabs

Sahro Hassan surounded by friends and family in her designs
Photo: Jim Walker

Sahro Hassan (pictured), like many other Muslim women, wears hijabs to cover her hair for religious and cultural reasons. Now if you were to see Sahro out and about wearing a hijab, you might look twice as she wears her very own line of animal print hijabs.

Sahro,  an eighteen-year-old Somali girl who immigrated to the United States and now residing in Lewiston, Maine,created a fashion line of bold, colorful hijabs in different animal prints, colors and fabrics.

In an interview with Public Radio International, Sahro reveals that she was Inspired by a desire to help Muslim girls embrace their identity and culture, as the norm in their community is jeans and sweatpants, and not hijabs.

“Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of options about what to wear and how to express ourselves,” she said.

Expression in terms of clothing was also not allowed at school as she and her sisters weren’t allowed to wear hijabs due to the school’s “no hat” policy. Sahro tried fitting in, but it was difficult because she did not speak English.

Her interest in fashion reality shows  like “Project Runway” and “What Not to Wear” fueled her passion and inspired her to develop something cool and unique for girls like her who struggled to fit in.

“I feel like I have potential because I don’t see Somali girls on Project Runway, designing and wearing hijab, and I want to change that,” she says. “I love animal print, I just die for print,”

“My biggest dream is to continue my line, but make it big that it’s known in the country, have my own store opened and even have a franchise,” she says. “I want to be the CEO of my company.

Learn more about her story here.