The 25-year-old, who has collaborated with well-known design houses around the world, said to have come to the conclusion that she was “not on this earth to be a model.”
One of the most vocal supporters of the Palestinian cause, Hadid is the daughter of Dutch model Yolanda Hadid and Palestinian real estate developer Mohamed Hadid. She has continued to spread awareness even as the violence in the state has increased.
In a recent interview with GQ magazine, Hadid discussed how she felt cut off from her Palestinian roots growing up in California after her parents’ divorced in 2000.
Before relocating to California, she spent her formative years in Washington, DC, where she was surrounded by her Palestinian relatives. Hadid said that while growing up in Santa Barbara, she “never could see myself in anything.”
For a very long time, Hadid remarked, “I was missing that part of me, and that made me very, really sad and lonely.
“I would have wanted to grow up with my dad and spend every day studying, practising, and just being able to live in a Muslim culture in general. However, I didn’t get that.
“I speak about [Palestine] for the elderly that are still living there that have never been able to see Palestine free, and for the children that can still grow up and have a beautiful life.”
Hadid’s advocacy for the Palestinian people has alienated her from certain influential people in the industry and even cost her friendships. But the model insisted that she would not forego her beliefs in order to advance her profession.
I came to the realisation that I’m not here to be a model, she remarked. “I’m very fortunate and grateful to be in a position where I can express myself as I do. And frankly, what is the downside? That I lose my job?”
Hadid’s comments came just days after her appearance on the Rep podcast, inwhich she confessed that she had already lost modelling prospects due of her opinions.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
