BREAKING THE WALLS And Spreading Her Wings

Though every woman is special in her own unique way, but there are few who break the societal stereotyping and stand above the crowd in their majestic flair. One such woman hails from Kenya and has been tagged as the most beautiful African Moslem woman in the world. We are talking about Miss Kenya – Fahima Kullow, at only a tender age of 20, she has gone above and beyond where most of us just dream of only. She is not only a crowned beauty pageant winner but also a trained chopper pilot!,

other than that Fahima says she loves to spend her days by cooking, traveling, sightseeing, photography,
adventure, dancing and listening to music. Coming from a large family (two brothers and four sisters) has taught her to be grateful for what she has which drove her passion to helping people especially children which made her start her own charity work ‘Fahima Foundation’.

We asked her which would be the three words to describe her, to which she replies – “Incorrigible — Hell yeah. I refuse to change. I’ve forgotten birthdays of many of my friends a lot of times; and I am guilty as charged. I’ve been told to store their birthdays on my phone by many, and will give that a go. Hopefully that’ll solve my problem. And yes, syncing Facebook will probably work wonders.”

“Inquisitive — I have an uncontrollable hunger for knowledge. I’m just way too curious at times; such that my friends get fed up of me. Even the tiniest of things get me excited to a crazy extent. Oh Wikipedia (and Quora too) how must I thank thee.”

“Intriguing — I’m an ambivert; a generous chunk of my personality remains unseen to most people (unless you’re really close to me). I like to keep it that way, for a little mystery is always good.”

It’s hard to believe that when she decided to be fashion model she was only 14, an age where most of us
are busy playing with our toys and video games. She was scouted for modeling in her high school only,
but her parents did not supported her ambition of becoming a model initially, thus during those days her
career remained more or less stagnant. But once she finished high school she started doing modeling as a profession and also participated in international beauty pageant. Surprisingly then her parents vehemently supported her endeavors by forwarding gestures such as taking her to modeling coaches weeks before her pageant competition.

When talking about her childhood, Fahima says that was the best time of her life, wherein life was without complications and there was no single thing under the Sun to worry about. She recalls her time with playing with friends and cousins who all are now busy in their own life. One another special memory she has is of her grandmother whom she loved to be around with and bask in her presence.

Growing up brought its set of challenges for her, the foremost being the perception of models in Islamic community, as they render modeling being a ‘half-naked’ parade. Although she belongs to a whole new set of models who are called Hijabi Models and does not sign for shoots or shows which require her to have a bikini round. Still time and again many Moslem models like her have to face the grunt from the
community which is at times can be morale shattering.

Fahima thus gives a message to all the Moslem women who want to have an ambition in life – “world is not changed by your opinion but through your actions”.

She urges the Moslem women to break free from their comfort zones and denounce the traditions or
norms if they do not agree to them as opportunity never comes twice, so you have to grab it by battling against all odds. Push your boundaries!

Not just modeling, she has pushed the boundaries by enrolling herself for commercial flying license
after being inspired from her grandfather who was a Brig.General in the air force and she feels proud of
soon becoming the second generation in the aviation.

We wonder what more can this woman be, she is already a model and a pilot, but Fahima believes in
being happy wherever and whatever she becomes, whether a model or a pilot. Her general knack of micro managing her affairs has even made her a successful entrepreneur now but she still aspires to be better mentally and physically and renders that as the true meaning of being successful.

It is difficult to say what exactly keeps a person from giving up on this ridiculously difficult, yet beautiful journey called life. Everyone has goals and aspirations that drive them to keep chugging along, but sometimes those aren’t enough. No matter how confident or motivated we might be there comes a
time when we hit a brick wall, and during those difficult times we need a someone to pull our socks up, for Fahima it’s her parents who have been her pillar of support since birth.

We further asked her opinion on whether the modern day pageant competitions ‘objectify women’, to which she gave a very wise answer, that it all depends upon the type of people you are dealing in this industry, as there are some who spread negativity and there many who promote positivity and women empowerment through such competitions. She further adds that this question of ‘Do Beauty Pageants Objectify Women?’ falls under the category of questions such as Is being a feminist bad?’, ‘Do religious
people hate atheists?’, and many more. “These mediums are build around perception”, Fahima shares.

Anyone can be spellbound by her beauty but who does Fahima considers as the most beautiful woman? To which she says that every woman is the most beautiful in the world if she has the courage to be herself.

“A beautiful woman is a woman who can be herself. A woman who smiles all the time and never cares
about what others think. A woman who is dying inside but is strong enough to let go of the pain and create a happy atmosphere for everyone. A woman who is not exactly sexually attractive but her face and personality can make your heart melt. A woman who is talented, smart and so different from every other girl. Yes! it’s you. Every girl or woman reading this answer is beautiful. Every girl is beautiful at heart”,

affirms Fahima, but also considers her mom, the most beautiful woman in the world