This Sudanese model was bullied for being 'too black'

In a recent interview with Cosmopolitan magazine, 24-year-old Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech admitted she would sometimes “cry [herself] to sleep after being bullied [about my skin].” 

With classmates accusing her of not showering and comparing her skin to dirt, she still moved from a Sudanese refugee camp to the U.S. at the age of 14 and made it big.  

Shocking the Internet back in March was a big boost for her social media fame. In an Instagram post with other models, she captioned the photo with a little anecdote about an Uber driver asking her if she would bleach her skin for $10,000. 

“I couldn't even respond I started laughing so hard,” Gatwech explained to Cosmopolitan. 

“You won't believe the kind of questions I get and the kind of looks I get for having this skin,” she added.

This online post alone drove international media coverage crazy over her and the dark skin she has. Many international brands like Aldo, Calvin Klein, and Jigsaw, took notice and included her in their campaigns.  

Her Instagram account skyrocketed from 20,000 followers to more than 330,000. For a previous part-time teacher, part-time model, she has definitely gained supporters more than haters with her courageous stance. 

Coming from a life of poverty in a refugee camp back in Africa, the Sudanese model talked about her experience, saying: “[It meant] sleeping in tents, not knowing where your dinner is coming from, not drinking clean water.” 

The hateful comments Gatwech received from strangers and classmates almost deterred her from pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a model, but she managed to get past it. 

When asked what her message is to white nationalists and KKK members, she said: 

“There’s no need to think that one person is better than others. People like that are lacking self-love as well. If you don’t accept who you are, you hate other people. You take the anger, there’s something inside you, you try to take that out on other people.”

In a recent TV interview, she explained how she's often asked to arrive to a shoot makeup-ready, either because the makeup artists “don’t know how to [apply makeup],” or because they don’t own dark shades. 

“Rihanna got darker shades now! Her new makeup line is out,” she laughed, saying there are no more excuses. 

From living in a refugee camp to getting interviewed by Cosmopolitan, she is becoming an inspiration to many around her. 

A young girl once told her that she’s “proud to be the darkest girl in the room” and that she “has started loving herself” because of the model. 

“I never imagined that somebody would feel like they’ve accepted who they are and love who they are because of something I did,” she told the magazine. 

“That’s my main goal, if loving myself and talking about it is helping people, I want to keep doing that. That’s important.”