HALLA'S WORDS by Stephanie Cammarano

5' ELEVEN''
Sep 15
3 min read

5ELEVEN Magazine Fashion Stories Editorials Digital with Sudanese model Halla Madol by Stephanie Cammarano. Wearing looks from Courrèges, Jimmy Choo, Loewe, Prada, Magda Butrym, Rick Owens, Panconesi, Toteme, — Constellation ear cuff by Panconesi

For Halla Madol, born in South Sudan, the act of shaving her head marks more than a change in appearance; it signals renewal. It is an act of instinct, of pushing back on the weight of expectation, of claiming space on her own terms. It is less about hair, more about becoming.

Halla Madol at Precision Mgmt photographed by Stephanie Cammarano.

Styled by Jasmine Knights. Makeup by Rob Povey. Photographer asissted by Amy Pollock.

Halla's words: My mind goes back to when I was younger. My parents were separated so I grew up in a household with males, I didn’t have a female role model in terms of beauty, hair, stuff like that. Until, we had this neighbour move next to us – his daughters knew how to do hair but I used to hate the brushing of the hair, the pulling, you know, I used to cry my eyes out. My dad threatened to cut my hair hoping to change my mind, but in my head, I thought ‘let’s do it!’ [Laughs] I loved it.

Back then, I didn’t have much of an attachment to my hair. When I started to get older and hanging

out with other girls, I started to realise that you are told ‘all your beauty revolves around your hair. What makes you a woman is looking after yourself and carrying yourself a certain way…’ which we

can agree to disagree. Hair doesn’t define who I am. I am me.

I think when I came to Australia my hair was longer compared to some of the members in my family

and my mum and sister had an attachment to my hair. They would say things to me like ‘oh my god if I had your hair, I would braid it naturally down, etc’ So I was like… am I also attached to my hair?! So I just felt the need to cut it and see what that’s going to bring me. But the stigma of people and the

community telling me ‘Your hair’s your crown’ and all this stuff – that made me scared. What if I

shaved my hair and I didn’t like it? What if I cut it and I stand out… what if I have a big head?![Laughs] But you know – beauty comes from within. The way you carry yourself, the way you present

yourself, the way you speak – a lot of things can contribute to what a woman is, and hair is just a

factor. I shouldn’t be attached to my hair like that.

You know what?! Let me just cut it. When I shaved it – people started to compliment me on the shape

of my head and stuff. I mean, I’m like, lucky that I don’t have a big head [laugh] but I felt like gave me another sense of empowerment. I felt like I needed to unlock this chapter of my life, this version of

me. I felt strong and good about it. I don’t need hair to be feminine. I don’t need hair to be called a

woman or be seen as a woman. With or without hair; I feel like as a woman we should feel good on

the inside and outside no matter what.

If you feel the need to explore a different side of you, don’t hesitate. At the end of the day you hear so

many opinions, a lot of people including my family were attached to my hair, would always tell me

‘don’t ever cut your hair.’ When I went ahead and listened to what I wanted to do, people changed

their opinion. The point is – just embrace who you are! At the end of the day, it’s about what matters to you. If you’re content with who you are, you’ll find beauty inside and outside.