Life was all that it was cracked out to be: supportive, close-knit family, friends that were lifers, and opportunities that were presented once in a blue moon. Beena Yusuf was living her dream. Living in Dubai with her husband, employed with the U.S. Consulate, turned fashion designer, Beena knew what she wanted out of life: happiness. Humans always say happiness, but why do we always forget health?
Rewind 2018. The world-famous beauty, fashion and pop culture publication SHE Magazine came to Beena to become its CEO and Editor-in-chief. Two issues were published in the U.S., making this the official SHE Magazine of the USA. The highly fashion-forward publication known for its visually stunning designs, high-quality photography, elegant typography, and creative layouts creates an inviting and visually appealing experience. This was the epitome of living her dream. Beena was becoming the Queen of the editorial world. Little did she know, life was about to take a huge turn and bring her to-be empire down.
All of this came to a grinding halt on October 14, 2019. Beena’s parents found out her younger brother’s heart had stopped in his sleep, and he had fallen into a coma. The doctors said he wouldn’t survive; if he did, he’d never live a meaningful life. A nightmare that one could never imagine happening to a young, healthy guy. Against all odds, Beena’s brother is alive today, is wholly coherent and is able to communicate with everyone. He is still non-verbal and immobile but has the willpower of Iron Man and is struggling daily to return to his life. After having spent the last three years taking care of her younger brother, who has always been one of Beena’s most prominent supporters, Beena knew what she had to do.
“I remember I was in the ICU with my family, and I received an email from H-E-B, saying they want to hold my magazines in all of Texas, and I look up, and the attending Doctor says, ‘your brother might not make it.’ “
Complete paradigm shifts. A dream and nightmare all in one breath.
But the thought of going back to the editorial world sounded like a curse word. She swore she would never go back, having the guilt of trying to come back to her dream while her parents and brother were suffering. Then, in 2022, finally good news after three years of caregiving and pain. Beena and her husband were expecting. A gift they didn’t know they needed—a huge blessing. Beena’s pregnancy seemed easy, no cravings, no pain, just easy. Until her baby shower in May 2022, she complained of seeing white dots on the right side of her eye. Her vision was starting to blur; she could no longer drive, so she started swerving on the right side. Her OB had doubts something was not right, but Beena disregarded them as pregnancy symptoms.
“I remember I was at my baby shower. I had the worst headache of my life; I could barely see anything out of my right eye, I was dizzy, my husband had to hold me, and I couldn’t even walk straight. My friends told me something was not right about her.”
She was admitted five days later. MRI showed a huge white mass in her brain. It was a benign brain tumor. An emergency cesarean was done at eight months pregnant, and just three days later, brain surgery. Beena gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She came into the world healthy and happy. But Beena was forced to heal from postpartum and heal from brain surgery all at once.
“My daughter forced me to recover; she needed me, but really, I needed her.”
Recovery was tough for Beena; it took a year to heal the brain, but it will take a lifetime to recover from the trauma this family endured. But Beena’s resilience prevails. Despite all the hardships, she is re-launching SHE Magazine USA with an entirely new panorama. Beena calls herself SHE 2.0. SHE Magazine USA will come back stronger, bigger and better. She was telling the story of all of those unsung heroes like Beena and her brother.
Beena manifested her dream life. At a young age, she wrote down in a notebook that she would one day walk a runway despite feeling she was not tall enough or pretty enough. But it was not easy being young Beena; though outspoken and a dreamer, she was often bullied in middle/high school. Having a foreign name and unique features, she would come home from school in tears, not letting her parents know. She would hide in her mother’s closet, where her mother kept a stack of beautiful magazines that she would marvel through and find solace in.
This Magazine was called SHE, a high-profile publication that is originally from the UK and was born to Hearst Publication in 1954. The women featured in the Magazine were beautiful, powerful and elegant. Little did young Beena know, she would own this Magazine 20-plus years later.
Beena thought she would end up in medical school, and her dreams of owning a magazine or walking a runway would be just a distant fantasy when she had the epiphany that this life wasn’t for her. Beena was drawn to another calling; she didn’t know what it was yet. After moving to her dream destination, Dubai, with her husband, Beena landed a fantastic job with the US State Department there and had seemingly achieved all of her life goals. Right? But something was still missing.
Beena was drawn to how elegant and majestic women in her culture looked without exposing themselves and began designing her own “bishts” or capes, an elegant gown that is worn by Middle Eastern women. Her designs modernized the traditional garment, and Beena’s husband knew that she needed to give this a real shot. So this husband of the year candidate got all of her designs made as a surprise and encouraged Beena to post about them on social media.
Beena was floored when she saw her designs come to life, and the response on social media was just as enthusiastic. Thousands of likes and comments started pouring in, and eventually, Pakistan Fashion Week reached out. Beena’s fashion line “B. Poshi” was a huge hit and completely stole the show when models took to the runway with her clothes as “Run The World” by Beyonce blasted in the background immediately after the show high profile clients, including the members of the Dubai Royal Family, were buying all of Beena’s pieces at insane prices.
After seeing the success of Beena building this fashion brand from the ground up and catching attention internationally, SHE Magazine Official reached out to Beena (Yes! The same SHE Magazine young Beena would engulf herself in her mom’s closet) and asked her to take over the publication in America, and a few months later she became the CEO and Editor of SHE Magazine USA. A dream she thought was just for the dreamers was now brought to life.
Beena took SHE Magazine USA to new heights by covering high-profile models/influencers, and featuring celebrities on her covers brought SHE Magazine USA new audiences.
The strength Beena realized she had after the hardships life put her through showed her that she was finally that hero she was looking for in the pages of SHE Magazine when she was a child. And these heroes are everywhere. We don’t hear about them all the time.
“We are so excited about what SHE Magazine USA is going to do in 2024. The types of stories we are going to cover, the topics we will discuss, and just making sure that every woman out there is reminded that they aren’t alone. That if you are different or look a certain way or life has just been really unfair to you, that you are still powerful and still beautiful. That they matter and the world would not exist without them. I had people remind me of my greatness this year when I wanted to give up on my dream because of, well…life. Now, I want to be a vessel for other women and provide a larger-than-life platform to make their voices heard. SHE Magazine will aim to do just that.” Beena said when she was reached out for comment.
You can stay up to date with the publication at https://shemagazineusa.com/
Instagram: @beena_poshi @Shemagazineusa
