Meet The First Miss England Finalist to Walk the Runway in a Hijab

September 5, 2018

Sara Iftekhar is a 20-year-old Muslim law student who became the first Miss England contestant to walk the runway in a Hijab.

While she eventually lost out on the crown to Miss Newcastle on Sunday, Iftikhar made history, nonetheless, as the first-ever hijabi to be among the Miss England finalists.

The University of Huddersfield student competed against 49 other contestants for the chance to represent England at Miss World, an international beauty pageant held in December.

“I did not expect to be making history. I do feel proud,” Iftekhar wrote on her Instagram account after she was crowned Miss Huddersfield.

“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.”

Iftekhar, who loves fashion and makeup artistry, started her own clothing business at the age of 16.

She has been donating her profits from her business to “Beauty with a Purpose,” an NGO which “supports cleft palate teams in South America, Sri Lanka, and Russia.”

The stunning beauty finalist now hopes the publicity she’s gained from the competition will help in generating more funding for her chosen charity.

In her crowdfunding page dedicated to “Beauty with a Purpose,” she wrote: “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.”

Featured image via Instagram/sara_iftekhar

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