The winner of Miss Nigeria Beauty Pageant has spoken about her ordeals at the beginning of her journey as a hijab-wearing model.
The 18-year-old Garko, who won the 44th edition, beating 18 other contestants to become the first hijab-wearing model to win the pageant revealed this in an interview with The Punch.
Garko noted that at the beginning she felt intimidated because of her hijab.
According to her, several brands refused to work with her as a result of it adding they further advised her to cast it off if she desired to build a successful career as a model.
“I have only been a model for less than a year. After I graduated from school, I was stuck at home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I hated being idle, so I decided to try my hands at modeling.
My first modelling audition was ‘rocky’. They picked me at first but they later said I needed better management, and they rejected me.
“However, that did not really discourage me. Rather, it encouraged me to do better and push harder.
“My mum told me, “You can’t just start this thing and be successful immediately”. She made me understand that one has to fail before one succeeds.
“In the early days of my modelling career, I felt a bit intimidated because of my hijab. I was turned down severally because brands did not want to work with a hijab model. On several occasions, I was blatantly told I had to take off my hijab if I wanted to succeed as a model.”
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