Why Muslim Australian model Hanan Ibrahim didn’t quit her day job

A rising star of the modelling world walked multiple shows at Australian Fashion week earlier this year, but she’s refusing to give up her day job. Find out why.

Hanan Ibrahim at the Sheike Spring/Summer 2022 Collection Lunch at Catalina in Rose Bay. Picture: John Feder

Rising star of Australian modelling Hanan Ibrahim has her feet in two different worlds.

The 29-year-old was working as a radiation therapist in the health sector when she attended an event with a friend, only to be discovered by a designer that cast her in a fashion show on the spot.

She gave up her full time job in November and is signed to IMG and walked no fewer than six shows at Australian Fashion Week earlier this year.

Ibrahim however is ensuring she doesn’t lose her trade by working one day a week as a radiation therapist.

“Healthcare was my thing for 10 years,” Ibrahim told Confidential.

Hanan Ibrahim still works as a radiation therapist twice a fortnight. Picture: John Feder/The Daily Telegraph.

“To do this alongside that, it gives my mind a break from that world. I still do it twice a fortnight and I feel it is very important for me to keep doing that because it is a way for me to keep giving back to the community, using my education and I am good at it.”

A radiation therapist plans and administers radiation treatments to cancer patients.

Being of the Muslin faith, Ibrahim aims to represent a community she feels hasn’t traditionally been seen on catwalks. Picture: Jay Town

Hanan Ibrahim is signed to IMG. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Modelling is a completely different world, she said.

“I love it, it is such an interesting, creative thing to be doing,” she told Confidential at the recent Sheike Spring/Summer 22 showings.

“To do this (model) alongside that (radiation therapy), it gives my mind a break from that world. I still do it twice a fortnight and I feel it is very important for me to keep doing that because it is a way for me to keep giving back to the community, using my education and I am good at it.”

Rising star of Australian modelling Hanan Ibrahim has her feet in two different worlds. Picture: John Feder

Ibrahim, who was born in Kenya and moved to Australia with her family as a child, is planning to take her modelling overseas in 2023.

Being of the Muslim faith, she aims to represent a community she feels hasn’t traditionally been seen on the international catwalks.

“I had never seen a Muslim woman work (as a model) in Australia. “To be the first woman in Australia to wear a hijab on the runway in Melbourne was such a huge deal for the community and young women who don’t see themselves represented in fashion but want to be. I feel very grateful and humbled to be there for these women who never see themselves outside of their own communities and celebrated in the mainstream.”

Ibrahim is tall, measuring six-foot-one.

“I was short and chubby for a long time (as a kid),” she said. “You know in high school, you’re 15 and come back after summer and then you are like six foot. That is literally what happened to me. I came back to school and my dress was short and I couldn’t fit into my school uniform. I grew like overnight, over the summer.”