Meet Sara Iftekhar, the 20-year-old Miss Englamd contestant whose name has been circulating the news—not for winning, but for becoming the first Miss England contestant to walk the runway in a hijab.
While the Muslim law student lost the crown, she still managed to make history in the pageant stage. Competing against 49 other contestants for the chance to represent England at Miss World, she shared through her Instagram account: “I did not expect to be making history. I do feel proud.” She added, “At the end of the day, I may be the first woman to wear a hijab [at the Miss England final]. However, I am just a regular girl and we all have a fair opportunity in this contest.”
She has been donating her profits from a clothing business she started to “Beauty with a Purpose,” an NGO which “supports cleft palate teams in South America, Sri Lanka, and Russia.” Sara now wants to use the publicity she’s gained from the competition for her chosen charity. “I participated in Miss 2018 in order to show that beauty doesn’t have a definition, everyone is beautiful in their own ways, regardless of their weight, race, color or shape.”
[Next Shark]
Photo courtesy of Sarah Iftekhar’s Instagram account
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