Porter | Incredible Women

Halima Aden, the Somali-American model known for wearing a Hijab on the runway, reads 'Open Letter to Women of the World Considering Wearing Hijab in Interfaith Solidarity with Muslim Women' by civil rights activist Zainab Chaudry. The letter, which offers one way women are able to support one another, prompts Halima to talk about her own experiences as a Hijab wearing model, prom queen and Miss Minnesota beauty pageant contestant, as well as her views on being a young Muslim woman in the western world.

Model and intersex activist Hanne Gaby Odiele reads an open letter about self-expression by former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning that she wrote in August 2017. Odiele then goes on to praise Manning for always standing up for herself and fighting for what she believes in.

Ruth Rogers, chef and co-founder of The River Cafe reads a letter from former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In the letter, Roosevelt resigns from the patriotism-promoting organisation Daughters of the American Revolution following their refusal to let Marian Anderson, a famous African-American singer of the time, perform at Constitution Hall. Roosevelt’s resignation was a brave and defiant act for a First Lady in 1939.

Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate, reads one of her favourite texts, The Problem of Shakespeare’s Sister from A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. In Balshaw’s chosen passage, Woolf presents a thought experiment; what if Shakespeare had an equally gifted sister? Balshaw goes on to discuss how this connects to another favourite writer, Alice Walker, and reflects on Walker’s interpretation of Woolf’s piece.

Produced by PORTER in association with Estée Lauder, the Incredible Women podcast series celebrates the global heroines who inspire and empower us. Each episode, we’ll be asking an Incredible Woman of 2017 to share an inspiring letter written by another woman and talk a little about why it’s important to them.