Around the world, the rise of the hijabi influencer has been prominent over the last couple of years, from names like UK-based Habibi da Silva, who has over 850,000 followers on Instagram, to Kuwaiti American Ascia, who has a staggering 2.6 million followers. One woman has joined the echelon of leading hijabi bloggers and she’s doing it with an altruistic agenda.
London-based Maryam Salam is one of Nigeria’s biggest modest fashion influencers who not only is an inspirational figure in terms of modest style, but is also a holder of a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Marketing and Branding, and a post-graduate degree in Entrepreneurship and International business. With her sense of trendy-yet-subtle fashion and her business know-how, Salam has now created a line of scarves that she is using to help others.
Speaking to Bella Naija Style, Salam explained that she created her brand, Arewa Scarves, as a social enterprise that not only offers a selection of high-quality head coverings for every skin tone but also provides an effective fund-raising platform to benefit girl-child education in Nigeria. The blogger explained that for every purchase made, £1 is donated to Arewa Scarves’ charity partner Global Hope Integrated Empowerment, which is an NGO in Nigeria focused on women and children.
“Arewa Scarves is more than a fashion brand but we hope it will become a movement/community where we can impact lives while still looking beautiful. It’s about coming together to support a cause: The girl-child and children in general for something we might see as little but impactful […] Our target audience is first young people that believe in our brand promise: ‘together, we can make a big impact,’” she explained in the interview.
