Sisters With Albinism Work As Models After Stunning Family With Their Birth

Apr 30, 2022 by apost team

The story of two young models from Kazakhstan is making people recognize the beauty of our ethnic and genetic diversity. Asel and Kamila Kalaganova are 16 and 4 years old, respectively. What makes them unusual is that the sisters are both albinos. 
Although not a lot was understood about their condition initially in their native country, their looks are now being celebrated worldwide. 

There are three Kalaganova siblings: Asel is the firstborn, Kamila is the youngest, and they have a brother who is eight years old, Aldiyar. Kamila and Asel look similar, but their brother's appearance is quite different. This is because the Kalaganova sisters are both albinos, which means that they were born without pigmentation.

The girl's parents said when Asel was first born, her appearance came as a shock to them and their medical team. The doctors originally believed that Asel was taking on her father's Russian genes before realizing she was an albino. After doing extensive research into their family history and ancestry, the parents found that albinos did extend back to their ancestors. The mother had been carrying these genes but had never known until she had children of her own who expressed these genes. The family was relieved when they realized it was a condition and not a sickness. 

The girls have taken to social media to share their beauty with the world. Having a popular following on Instagram, Asel has over 64,000 followers. Not only are the sisters popular on the internet, they are models, showing the world that there is beauty in being different. 

"At the very beginning, everyone was shocked, surprised. I did not know what to do myself, how to live," Aiman Sarkitova, the girls' mother, said. When Asel was born, she had very fair skin and blonde hair, which was completely different from her parents, 38-year-old Aiman Sarkitova and Lldar, who have dark skin and hair.

"At first it was difficult, of course, the children stared at her," Aiman Sarkitova told The Daily Mail. "Albinos do not differ much from other children, only their hair, eyelashes, eyes, and skin color," her mother added. 

"People are surprised that we are Albino," Asel told The Daily Mail. 

Originally, Asel was placed in a school for the disabled before being moved to a school for not disabled children. Later, she went on to attend modeling school as well. 

Being different, especially as a child, can be difficult. Having such fair complexion, both girls have a different routine than other kids who are not albino. The girls have to take care to stay out of the sunlight, as reports The Daily Mail. 

"If I go outside in the afternoon, then I definitely apply sunscreen, put on clothes to protect my skin, headgear or use an umbrella," said Asel. However, she added nighttime is a better time of day for her. "In the evening, when there is almost no sun, it's much easier for me," she said.

The sisters' parents acknowledge that their daughters are unique, and that used to prevent them from allowing the girls to do certain things. But now, she lets Asel carry on like a normal girl. 

"Now she feels good, we do not limit her to anything," she said. Followers and fans of the unique sisters can follow along their life journey from Asel's Instagram account, where she posts work, family, and her life as a teenage girl. 

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How would you help your children be confident if they were different? If you were inspired by this family's story— pass it on to other families who love it too!