By: Radwa Abdullatif
A 20-year-old Muslim law student is set to be the first beauty queen to wear a hijab while walking down the Miss England catwalk, according to reports. Sara Iftekhar hopes to take the Miss England crown at Kelham Hall, in Nottinghamshire next week. Iftekhar reportedly said that she "can't even comprehend" how "amazing it is" to have reached the final stage of the beauty pageant. Women have worn the hijab in qualifying rounds of the event, but Sara is the first to wear it for a final.
Iftekhar said: "I participated in Miss 2018 in order to show that beauty doesn't have a definition, women are beautiful in their own ways, regardless of their weight, race, color or shape.'"
She wrote on her Find Me On page, "I have recently won the title of Miss Huddersfield 2018 & Miss Yorkshire Popularity 2018 and have qualified for the national finals of Miss England. I have set up this page in order to raise money for the Beauty with a Purpose program, which is a registered charity and a non-profit organization". Beauty with a Purpose has been raising money for the past 46 years. It helps local and international organizations in order to help under privileged children around the world. They have raised money for the Cleft Palate Teams in South America, Sri Lanka and Russia, alongside carrying out fundraising tours in order to support the abandoned and neglected children in Vietnam. They have also worked alongside Nelson Mandela and Jackie Chan in order to increase the financial aid of those affected by the Asian tsunami"
The Muslim student, who often shares pictures of herself wearing Pakistani fashion said 'It was an incredible experience and something which I will never be able to forget. Being a finalist in Miss England is an opportunity which I would never have thought of and will forever be grateful for'
She said on Instagram: My Miss England journey has been so so amazing and an experience which I never thought i would be part of. 'I still feel honoured to be one of the amazing girls in the top 50 chosen out of 22,000 women .I just can’t wait to see where this journey takes me".
Reports state that Iftekhar is set to face a fierce competition from 49 other beauty queens during the finals on Tuesday and if she wins, she will represent England at Miss World in Sanya, China.
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