Onewouldexpect,Hawa,19,nottospeak any English at all purely because of her background. Her family moved from war torn Somalia to Sweden when she wasonly7-yearsold.Englishisn’tthetop language in these nations but Hawa is full if surprises. Hawa’s fashion star is clearly on the rise, but this Roberto Cavalli fan didn’t think she could live past the first episode. “Thefirstphotoshootwashard.Theytookus85metresinto the sky. I am afraid of heights but I did my best and it worked.” She admits that with each episode she was really nervous, but she wasn’t really ready to go home yet. “I saw this advertisement on TV. I have had the dream to be in the show. So I took the chance.” The show is broadcast on Swe­den’s TV3. The girls all lived under one roof and as with any house with a lot of women gossip circulated. Hawa shrugs this ill talk off saying, “ Girls will always be girls. As the com­petition got tougher it was very hard. We were all there to become the next top model. The important thing is that you know what the truth is.” In week two the girls were shot top­less wearing a single accessory by the immensely talented Swedish photographer Carlos Bosco.

Hawa clearly outshone the rest of the contestants in this photo (and in, dare we say the Yoga shoot.) Hawa, who looks up to models Iman, Tyra B and Waris, is still coming to grips with all the trappings of a model’s life like drugs, pressure to eat or not to eat as is in most cases and being rec­ognisedinthestreets.Ondrugs she isfirm andstresses that taking them is purely out of choice, “No one will force you to take drugs.” On eating she says that she eats well and healthily and exercises often, “ A healthy lifestyle makes you feel good. I want to look good when am in my fifties. That keeps me going.” The public adore her and she finds this strange, clearly not used to all the attention, “ They say hi and are very nice. They still congratulate me too and that’s nice.

” However, coming from a Islam based Somali background as well, has there been any backlash?Therewasanothertoplessshoot in week three with a male model. “ I will say that as an adult the only person who decides what is right is for you is you. Everyone has a right to do what they love in life.” When asked whether her parents were in support of her career move she refused to comment and although she looks a pic­ture of innocence, Hawa reminds us that she has been in the modelling business once before when she was only 10 and was in another competi­tion when she was 14. This is clearly a girl who didn’t stumble into model­ing. This is a girl who knows what she wants and will pursue it no matter what the opposition is. Hawa is gradually becoming busy and travels a lot. You have, on seeing her, the feeling that this is just but the very begin­ning for the remarkable Hawa. ®