"I knew no one to help me pursue my career in modelling and had no good English to compete with Australian-born girls," she said.
Speaking to SBS Arabic 24, Ms Malakha, 20, described how she worked as a fashion model in Lebanon for five years after fleeing war-torn Iraq with her parents before they finally made it to Australia as refugees in February 2017.
Following her arrival in Melbourne, the young refugee was determined to keep pursing a modelling career. But with no contacts or prior experience in the Australian fashion industry, the odds were stacked against her.
"It started with small roles such as doing photo-shoots for big stores like Myer," she says.
Mirna Malakha struts on the catwalk Source: Supplied
She began by seeking out small roles at community fashion events and within just a few months after settling in her new country, she was noticed by Bassem Rasho, the coordinator of an Australian-Iraqi fashion show.
Mr Rasho helped connect Ms Malakha with opportunities, the most notable of which was participation in Magnificent Miss 2017 which led to a highly-sought after photo-shoot with the Myer department store. All of this occurring just four-months after she had arrived in Australia as a refugee.
Nearly a year on, Ms Malakha is still answering casting calls for modelling jobs.
"It is true that 11 months is quite a short time, but modelling love pushed me to overcome community tradition and language barrier to pursue my dream," she said.
Listen to Mirna's full interview (in Arabic) with SBS Arabic24 in the audio player above.
Romina Sliwo, 26, is another refugee from Iraq who also took part in the same community event facilitated by Mr Rasho. But, in addition to overcoming the adversity of being a refugee with no industry-contacts, Ms Sliwo’s journey into modelling also involved needing her parents’ permission.
In Iraq, modelling and working in the fashion industry is often not accepted in the more conservative parts of society as the tradition there almost bans girls from pursuing fashion careers,
“Most models do not agree to wear semi-naked dresses as the conservative and religious society would not tolerate it,” Ms Sliwo explained.
The tradition limits clothing-designs to fabrics that involve full-body coverage.
While initially against their daughter’s dream of pursuing modelling, the 26-year-old said their change-of-heart came about through her appearance in a stage production of Les Misérables in 2013.
It was the first time Victor Hugo’s classic play had been performed in the city of Duok in northern Iraq. Ms Sliwo described the play, in which she played the role of Cosette, as “the turning point” in her life.
“My parents then recognised my [potential] to be a good actress or even a successful model.”
But then the worsening situation in Iraq meant Ms Sliwo and her family needed to flee and seek asylum in Australia.
The aspiring model would not be deterred from her dream though. Following her arrival in Melbourne in April 2016, she began searching for fashion-work and within just four months of her arrival in Australia, Ms Sliwo had secured a 12-month modelling contract.
Romina Sliwo Source: Supplied
Her star continued to rise at the 2017 Miss Galaxy Australia -- a nation-wide beauty and fashion competition --, where Ms Sliwo was selected as a finalist.
Then in February 2018, she flew to the U.S. to compete in the Miss Assyria Beauty Pageant, an international event organised by the Assyrian media centre in Chicago.
Despite competing against participants from all over the world, it was Australia’s own Ms Sliwo who picked up the crown for Miss Assyria 2018.
With such a bright future ahead, Ms Sliwo hopes other women can take inspiration from the adversity she overcame to achieve her dreams. To refugee girls in particular, she urged them to not be afraid of “tradition, language barriers [or] competitiveness”, adding “follow your dream if you want to make it through”.
