Sara Iftekhar, a law student from northern England, has made headlines for becoming the first hijab-wearing finalist of the Miss England beauty pageant. The 20-year-old, who is of Pakistani descent, competed against 49 other contestants at Kelham Hall in Newark, Nottinghamshire, on Monday night, wearing a blue, flower-embellished gown paired with a black, artfully wrapped turban. Adorning her hijab was an oversized, ruffled headpiece affixed neatly to the top of her head. Though she wouldn’t take home the crown, Iftekhar’s bold move in post-Brexit Britain has successfully managed to steal the hearts of viewers the world over.
The Miss England finalist, who works as a makeup artist, had won the Miss Huddersfield 2018 title in July. “I can’t even comprehend how amazing it felt for my name to be announced as a finalist in the Miss England Finals 2018!,” she wrote on her Instagram page. “Alhamdullilah ❤️ It was an incredible experience and something which I will never be able to forget. The opportunities which I have received with being a finalist in Miss England are opportunities which I would never have thought of and will forever be grateful for.”
At the age of 16, Iftekhar set up an online fundraising page on crowdfunding website gofundme.com, to raise proceeds for the charity Beauty with a Purpose, a non-profit organization that raises funds for underprivileged children across the world. The law student wrote on the page that she participated in the the beauty pageant “to show that beauty doesn’t have a definition, everyone is beautiful in their own ways, regardless of their weight, race, color or shape.”
The 20-year-old follows in the footsteps of former Vogue Arabia cover star, Halima Aden who broke boundaries when she became the first woman to compete in the Miss Minnesota USA Pageant while wearing a hijab. Aden would go on to walk for a number of international runways, and pose for countless magazine covers and ad campaigns.
Now Read: Halima Aden Opens Up About Her “Deeply Personal” Decision to Wear the Hijab
