Hoda Katebi
Iranian-American
Fashion Blogger + Activist
Instagram: @hodakatebi
The daughter of parents who emigrated from Iran, Hoda Katebi is a young lady on a mission to bridge the gap between America and the Middle East.
Prior to attending university, Hoda and her family lived in a small town in Oklahoma, and the odds of being discriminated on were stacked against her. Not only were there only a few minorities in the community, but even fewer Muslims. So as one can imagine, Hoda became no stranger to islamophobia's full swing when 9/11 occurred. By age 11, she was punched by a fellow student and called a terrorist – all because of assumptions towards hijab-wearing Muslims and the overarching ignorance that people had/have of Islam.
When Hoda entered the University of Chicago, her understanding of the link between politics and fashion emerged. And after hearing about a pregnant Muslim woman in France, who suffered a miscarriage due to an attack centered on hate, Hoda was moved to act.
In 2013, Hoda decided to launch JooJoo Azad (meaning “Freebird” in Farsi) – a fashion blog “...where I can yell on the internet through words and visuals. Even if the caption of a photo is just describing the ethical brands I worked with for the shoot, the images scream, 'I am here. I am unapologetically wearing a hijab. And you're going to have to deal with it.'"
Hoda’s passion continued, as she chose Iran’s underground fashion scene for her undergraduate thesis. So in the summer of 2015, she traveled to Tehran in order to conduct first-hand research. Her primary target was Iranian designers that challenged the society’s Islamic dress code. And from this, Hoda discovered that although citizens frequently violated the code, the morality police (called the “Gashte Ershad”) rarely enforced it.
In addition to her thesis, Hoda captured the work of many Tehran fashion designers looking to gain out-of-country exposure for their art. From these images, Hoda published the first-ever in-print collection of Tehran’s modern streetstyle in a 2016 book titled Tehran Streetstyle.
Hoda graduated with honors in both International Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2016 and is currently the Communication Coordinator at the non-profit organization: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Chicago.
To date, Hoda takes on public speaking gigs that further her fight, and her work has been featured on various online, print and traditional mediums, including the Malala Foundation Blog and Mother Jones.
Interesting fact: Growing up, fashion was not Hoda’s forte. On a totally different note, bugs were her thing.
Sources: JooJoo Azad, i-D, and Mother Jones