Complexd Women

R.I.P to a talented woman who wasn’t afraid to sing the truth.

‘I sing the songs that people need to hear’ – Etta James

Photographed by Rick Day

Name: Malliha Ahmad
Place of birth: Milwaukee
Current residence: New York, USA

I am so mixed I define myself as a melting pot of everything. Even if I was asked to break it down, to be honest I wouldn’t know where to start.

I’m a Model…

Photographer: Matt Furman, MUA: Leora Edut, Styling: Lakum

and Artist

Photography by Andrea Gallagher

I wanted to be a cardiologist when I was younger until I realised I enjoy expressing myself creatively through painting, acting, designing and dancing. I moved from Milwaukee to NYC to pursue modelling and through my experiences I have learn’t to never let anything stand in your way when you’re following your dreams. And most importantly never compromise who you are because the industry wants you to be something you’re not. I believe it’s important to stay true to yourself and the universe will make sure that you achieve your goals.

Elle T Photography 

 I’m an Abstract impressionists and I love working with oils, acrylic, and mixed media. I use painting as an escape to release my inner thoughts and emotions. Art connects me to my subconscious, and I see it as a beautiful way to communicate ideas.

Photography by Pablo Badd

While attending the School of Visual Arts I perfected my digital skills so that I could expand my creativity in different facets of art so I dabble in photography, graphic design, video editing and I enjoy blogging.

Photography by Andrea Gallagher 

I am Complexd because of my sense of humour and my outlook on love and life. Love is everything; it’s the foundation and platform for life.

Follow Malliha’s blog here

Name: Azzi Kalili
Age: 27
Place of birth: Abadan, Iran
Current residence: London

I was born in Iran and my family moved to Sydney, Australia when I was four. It was a very big culture shock, but eventually I got used to the sunshine and the freedom to do whatever I wanted.

I started out editing educational magazines which then led to a job in publishing at Thomson Reuters where I was trained to become a journalist. I did a bit of news reporting for a few years while juggling my own artistic career.

Four years ago I just stumbled on a film set in Sydney where the director suggested I try commercial modelling. I had an exciting time juggling features for The Times newspaper while racing to castings.

Now I collaborate with my partner, we focus mainly on developing our art and photography projects. We are called Picle and we exhibit in Sydney and London.

We also combine our skills to create portfolios for models, actors and performers.

My style is effortless and practical with a splash of colour. I love mixing the old and the new, the cheap and the decadent. I’m obsessed with Portobello Market and grabbing timeless pieces at bargain prices.

A unique place I visited was Exmouth in Western Australia. I had the rare opportunity to swim with whale sharks. My next trip is to Cuba, like Iran it is a country with warm and vibrant people living under an oppressive regime.

Women have an inner, emotional strength that is often underestimated. I am a Complexd woman because being a Persian who grew up in Sydney and now living in London has given me opportunities to see the world. I am academic as a journalist, creative with my art and expressive in my modelling.

Portrait by Keena ©

Name: Nailah Lymus, Age: 28, Occupation: Fashion Designer, Place of birth: Oneonta New York, Current residence: Brooklyn, New York

My background is a mixture of African-American, Irish, and Cherokee Native American  and I was born and raised a Muslim. My UMMI (mother) encouraged me to be creative and my ABU (father) pushed the academic side, so I had a very balanced passion for both.  I’ve always been creative and ambitious as a young girl, I used to make flowers and place them on my Hijab (head scarf) to make it fancier. I started making my own jewellery at the age of 7 and was interview by my local paper in Syracuse, New York.

I never wanted to become a fashion designer until the day I attempted to make a skirt for myself, to my surprise it came out exactly as I envisioned. From that point on I started to make my own clothes and friends and family began enquiring about my designs, before I knew it I was creating collections and accessories. I now operate as an independent designer and I love every minute of it.

I want to educate through my designs so I create transitional designs for Muslim and non Muslim women. I wanted to break down misunderstandings and stereotypes associated with Muslim women.

A common one is our attire and what we can and cannot wear. Muslim women can wear numerous styles of clothing as long as we layer them in a way that fits the modest guidelines of Islam. My garments are modest for the non-Muslim woman and would need to be Islamified (layered) for the Muslim woman. I simply want people to understand that Islam is our religion, but we are still women and love fashion.

I love how God created me. The power that a woman possesses once she truly applies herself and remains focused is amazing. I love that we can speak to each-other about the constant challenges that life presents. Women share information with each other that allows us to work on ourselves.

I am Complexd because I appreciate that my talent is a gift that God blessed me with and I know I should use it as a tool to educated myself and not get caught up in the superficiality of the industry. This is my reason for always mentioning that I am a practicing Muslim woman and explaining the true beauty of Islam.

See me of Nailah’s designs here

Name: Hayley Kruger
Age: 37
Place of birth: Zimbabwe
Current residence: London, UK

I am Scottish, German and Norwegian, but I was born in Zimbabwe. I grew up in South Africa and then I migrated to London to broaden my horizons. I am an only child and come from a modest hard-working family.

The house that I grew up in was built on clay soil so I was always sculpting and baking the clay into bowls, sculptures and beads. I grew up creating things and that developed into dress making, jewellery design and art. Instead of going to fashion college I decided to travel for inspiration, when I finally settled down I found my calling in Jewellery and silversmithing.

Despite the vibrancy of my designs, I dress rather low-key. But I always add a splash of colour and bold jewellery. Collecting jewellery was my first love, and then came the designer title.

I design for my alter ego; the women that I imagined I would grow up to be. I get my inspiration from strong female icons such as Miriam Makeba, Barbarella, Joan of Arc and Cleopatra. But Southern Africa has the biggest influence on my work. The colours and cultures that I grew up with are ever present in my designs and they represent the strongest woman of all – Mother Nature.

Women are multi-faceted. We can achieve so much, whether it is in a single day or over a lifetime. And we have so much choice thanks to the determined women before us.

Photography by Condry Calvin Mlilo

I am Complexd because I can look back at how I have grown and evolved and use moments in my life (no matter how cringe worthy) to shape who I am today and who I am going to be. I am tenacious, loyal and proud and I look forward to what is still to come!

Shop Hayley Kruger’s designs here

Name: Fatiméh SY
Age: 21
Place of birth: Baghdad, Iraq
Current Residence: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

As an Iraqi I have a unique sense of national pride. I respect and appreciate difference but when I look back at my country’s  history and contemplate the different phases it has been through, the best term I can use to describe my country is Mesopotamia – the cradle of civilisation.  In Iraq’s most tragic times I grieved by drawing paintings that depicted my wounded homeland.

My parents and family have always encouraged me to do what I love doing, so I am building my fashion design portfolio. They have always shown appreciation for my messy sketches as well as my final pieces.

My philosophy is to reach perfection in my work. I enjoy drawing my dreams on paper, by doing this I hope that one day through diligence and hard work they will turn into a solid reality.

I love designing and seeing how an idea hatched in my mind transpires through my sketches and illustrations.  Designing has become my expressive tool for freedom of thought and that’s mainly what I love all about it.

I design to renew and modernise with the aim of enhancing the beauty and splendour of men and women. My designs are about elegance so I spend a lot of time and effort producing sophisticated pieces for my clients.

The challenge being a fashion designer in Iraq is not the competition; it is the fact that I am not a man. It is hard to fit in but the journey of a thousand steps begins with a step forward. I have the ambition and self belief to someday reach my goals.

Women are unique and sensitive creatures filled with passion, innovation and creativity. I love being a woman because women are the essential part of life.

I am Complexd because after reading this quote ‘you might be one of the richest people on earth, and you might not be aware of what you really have’, I realised I know what I have and I am proud of it.

Over the weekend I came across an innovative new company while doing a bit of Christmas shopping in pop-up design store The Temporium.

Lured in by tasters, I couldn’t get enough of the Pom Pom’s at the Pom Pom Takoyaki stall! Not too be confused with a cutsey toy or Christmas decoration, Pom Pom’s the brain child of Japaneses natives Hana and Tomo are golf sized savory pancake balls made of batter. Traditionally it is made with octopus, spring onions, pickled ginger and tenkasu, but food fanatics Hana and Tomo decided to fill their Takoyaki’s with more familiar tasty and sweet variations of the original recipe.

Pom Pom Chicken – Teriyaki Chicken and sauce 

Pom Pom Apple – Caramelised apple, cinnamon and honey , Pom Pom Chocolate – cherry & chocolate sauce,  Pom Pom Banana – Banana, chocolate sauce and coconut 

I asked Hana and Tomo how the idea came about…

Why did you decide to bring this particular traditional Japanese dish to the UK? 

Takoyaki (octopus ball) is a popular tasty street food snack in Japan. We felt that there was a lack of snacks like takoyaki available in the UK so we knew we would fill a gap in the market.  We still offer the traditional takoyaki on our menu but we wanted to do something new and unique, so we developed  Pom Pom’s which is similar to takoyaki but with different fillings and flavours to suit a UK clientele. After all octopus isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

How did you go about developing your business Pom Pom Takoyaki? 

We started off by coming up with the Pom Pom concept and then tried to find the right type of brand image, then we started experimenting with different recipes. When we felt confident that we had something that we totally believed in, we started to do the practical things like opening a business bank account, printing business cards and contacting various people, including Dezeen who offered us a space in their Christmas pop up store The Temporium. The Temporium is actually our first public introduction and Pom Pom’s have had a lot of interest.  We are learning along the way and enjoying the whole process.

Tell me a bit about your journey from Japan to London?

Hana: I originally moved to Cambridge with my family because of my father’s job, but returned to Japan after 2 years. I decided to come back  to study at a university in London because I loved the cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Tomo: I wanted to learn French cuisine so I lived and worked in Paris. I met my Husband in Paris, he was from the UK, so we returned together. I love my country and miss many things including the food, but London allows me to be unique. Individuality  is respected and accepted here perhaps a little more than in Japan.

What has been the  public’s response to Pom Poms in the UK? 

It’s been very positive! A lot of people approach Pom Pom’s with a curious look on their face until they try them. Once they have had a taste  there has been nothing but positive responses. At first we found that not many people know about takoyaki. It helps us a bit because they have nothing to compare Pom Pom’s with and we can introduce new flavours. We describe them as edible Pom Pom’s because  there isn’t one particular recipe  that has been more popular. They have all been equally popular so it’s hard to predict what assortment people choose to have in their box*.  We found that children really like them because they look cute and fun and customers have commented on how visually appetizing they look when we decorate them with different sauces and toppings. For us that is our biggest compliment because it was our aim to  create something unique and tasty.

The Pom Pom Takoyaki stall will be at The Temporium – 65 Mounmouth Street, Covent Garden until 24th December.

*Box of 5 Pom Pom’s for £3.80

Images by Luke Hayes

Name: Dominik Bonefont
Age: 18
Place of birth: USA
Current residence: Bronx, New York, USA

My background is made up of Dominican, French and Puerto Rican. My mother was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and my father is French and Puerto Rican. My dad does not have a close bond with his family so I don’t know much about my French and Puerto Rican heritage. My mother is a very strong and positive woman; so at heart I am fully Dominican.

My interest in modelling developed when people kept asking if I modelled, but from a young age I would play dress up in my mother’s closet. I would make-up my face; wear her fancy fur coats, step into her stilettos and totter down my hallway pretending I was on the catwalk.

I’m not afraid to stand out when it comes to style.  I don’t let what other people say or think affect me.

I travel to the Dominican Republic often and the one thing I know about my hometown is that no matter how bad their situation is, people still find time to party. They don’t allow the stresses of life to stop them from living. It’s the one place where people live like there is no tomorrow. Apart from DR, I would really love to travel to Egypt because I’m intrigued by Egyptian Goddesses and their Gods.

Women are such beautiful creations. We are the givers of life and we make many sacrifices, but I love being a woman because I get to wear some amazing heels!

I am Complexd because I have a lot of love in my heart. People feel like they can confide in me because I am forgiving, I like to bring joy and I am always laughing.

Complexd Woman Annecka Marshall shared her opinions on how men and women perceive the Vagina in Jamaica (see  feature Punny Printer pages 36-41). Here she talks in-depth about gender, sex and sexuality in Jamaica.

Name: Annecka Marshall

Occupation: Lecturer in Gender and Development Studies, Mona Campus, University of the West Indies

Place of birth: England

Current residence: Jamaica

As Lecturer in Gender and Development studies, what do you teach young people in Jamaica?

 I always try to increase the awareness that diversity is a source of strength rather than a site of division. In Jamaica I encourage students to reject their preconceived ideas about patriarchy and heterosexuality. I am particularly concerned about the regulation of women’s sexuality by men. This is demonstrated by the sexual double standard whereby it is expected that men have several partners but if women do so they are chastised as whores.  It is important that young women challenge derogatory images about their sexuality and reject negative treatment. My courses support students to reclaim their sexuality and become financially independent.

Violent homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia and transphobia lead to widespread silencing, stigma and discrimination in Jamaica. Homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender are regarded as a threat to culture, religion, politics, patriarchy, heterosexuality and the nuclear family. The virulent societal rejection of same sex desire leads to name calling, threats of physical violence, danger and harassment.  Sometimes lesbians are raped to ‘remedy’ their sexual orientation and the pressure to prove that they are not homosexual forces many men to be sexually active and to have many female partners as well as children. I teach students to debate sexual diversity because they uncritically adopt religious doctrine to justify discrimination. Students examine feminist analysis that refute their beliefs that same-sex practices are unnatural, abnormal, immoral, corrupt, perverse, diseased and evil. Sometimes students are reluctant to address sexual difference but we discuss the causes of the fear and hatred of sexually marginalised groups and how to unlearn their prejudices. This is connected to my research and activism with all-sexuals. I investigate effective interventions to decrease ignorance about all-sexuals and risky sexual behaviour.

3) Do you think young women in Jamaica have a healthy relationship with their sexuality?

Several young women describe discrepancies between their awareness of the threat of HIV/AIDS and risky sexual practices. Men are the main decision-makers in condom use. The cultural expectation that men may have multiple female sexual partners whereas women are monogamous contributes to contracting HIV/AIDS. Many young women feel vulnerable because they have not received adequate sex education. This reduces their sense of self-love and sexual fulfillment. Some women suffer risks when they attempt to initiate and control sexual encounters. Often women fear communicating their desires to their partners because men may have less respect for them and perceive them as being too knowledgeable about sex. The low self-esteem of some young women contributes to sexual exploitation because they do not feel that they can negotiate safer sex in relationships that are characterised by patriarchal power imbalance. As a result of feeling dependent on their partner some women do not feel that they have the choice to refuse unprotected sex and they are forced to have sex against their will. Young women are willing to commit to a male partner with the knowledge that they are sharing him with other women. Most of these women do not insist upon condom use and put consideration for their partner’s feelings above their own health. The absence of sexual awareness restricts their ability to define and control their own bodies.