Words by Imala

Since the launch of Top Model Maldives in 2018, it has been a show that has been well received by the audience. Regrettably, due to the pandemic, TTM was unable to host a show in 2021. Despite the casting being done, the show was not held due to a peak in cases at this time. Even with the challenges faced, He&She decided to pick a winner from the girls who had participated.

Aminath Aseela was declared as the winner and she was unable to grasp that amongst the beauty queens, she has been the chosen one to represent Maldives in the upcoming Top Model of the World pageant to be held in Cairo, Egypt. Without a doubt it is always going to be a journey that would bring glory and light to their days to come.

 Without further delay, let us do the honors of introducing the new face that has been crowned as the title of Top Model Maldives 2021. “Hello, my name is Aminath Aseela also known as Anji. I have worked in Customer Service-related jobs in the past and had initially wanted to work in aviation as a Cabin Crew which I was not able to achieve due to unforeseen circumstances. So, at the moment, I am fully focused on working as a model.

 As for choosing to work as a model, Anji had to say that, “Modeling is a good field to build up a career if you choose the right path for it. From my experience so far, I would say that it is your own responsibility to value yourself and to keep that value deep within yourself in order to make it to the top of the game. You need to maintain a discipline so that the society can accept modeling as a career. I believe it is not only for modeling this should be applied, but for all career choices. My aim is to prove that modeling is not a bad career choice.”

“I had a remarkable experience taking part in the pageant in Egypt. I never imagined that I would be able to live through an experience like this. Meeting new people from all over the world in an entirely foreign country. Each and every person I met was really sweet, kind and humble. Especially with the people in my circle, we never felt that it was a competition since we were all just having so much fun. We were all like one big family. Hence, I really enjoyed the time I spent there.” She recalled enthusiastically. About the things she learnt through the pageant, “I learnt a lot about posture, walking and attitude which is basically the utmost important qualities of a professional model. For example, at photoshoots, it is extremely crucial to maintain a posture that does not ruin the quality of a picture. Also, how you carry yourself with confidence and dignity in the society was an important knowledge I acquired from the pageant.”

Anji revealed that her inspiration to become a model was none other than Haneefa Hilmy, who is the founder of, He&She. “Hanee is someone who is very inspiring as I find her very humble and her kindness in how she treats people is just unbelievable. I just love how she motivates people. There was a moment at pageant when I was feeling very down during the interview process. So, I called her and it wasn’t even five minutes she uplifted me, giving me a boost and making me believe in myself. For this reason and more, she is truly and is always my role model. Have been meeting her through different aspects in regards to TMM but haven’t gotten the opportunity to meet her in person. So, I am pretty excited to meet her someday.”

For Anji’s day to day casual outfit, she prefers to wear Tops and Jeans, or Frocks depending on where she is headed. “I believe that I should carry myself in such a way that is professional and as a respected individual who has moral principles. Especially after winning the title of TMM, I am more aware of how I execute myself to the society. From the moment I won, I wanted to become a role model to the next girl who would win this title therefore, I ensured to make a lot of changes to my lifestyle in order to be recognized as a top model.”

In a span of two weeks, Anji had managed to accomplish her fitness level top notch just in time for the International pageant. She credits her successful fitness journey to her personal trainer Mary. “All thanks to Mary I managed to tone down to a level more than I had anticipated. I never thought I would be able to do a hard and tough training since I was someone who had never done any PT trainings before. So, I was really happy with the end results. Also, I learnt that as a model it is really important to maintain fitness.”

After taking part in the International pageant, Anji had recently worked on some shoots and she spoke exclusively about the FIH show she had taken part in. Anji described her involvement. “It was my first ever TV show. I had received the opportunity to model for my uncle Hassanbe’s collection at FIH. During the show, I got a lot of recognition by other designers and was approached to model for their collections as well. It was a memorable experience as it was my first ever local platform after TMM. And also, I would like to add that because of Noor, Bunaa, DynaMaldives, Dhona and Washiya, I had improved in a lot of areas during the show.” Anji also added what she looks for when she goes for shoots. “I always make sure to check the kind of people who I would be working, the details of the shoot, who would be doing the edits and most importantly how models are treated because sometimes models are not treated with respect. And also, whether the pay is good enough.” Anji ended with a laugh.

Lastly, Anji would like to thank her father who has been her biggest supporter all throughout this amazing journey. And she would also like to thank Hassanbe for giving her the opportunities to model his collections. “Without the help of my father and Hassanbe I wouldn’t be where I am today. One thing for sure is that through thick and thin, my father will always be there for me. Our aim is to prove that good girls also exist in the modeling world.”