The competition of Miss England 2108 is about to commence with an surprising participant this year. Maria Mahmood became the first-ever hijab wearing Muslim to contest the competition.
The 20-year-old beauty has made it to the semi-finals, hoping to reach the finals. If Maria wins Miss England, she will go on to compete in Miss World.
Maria is a psychology student at the Newman University. She bagged a place in the semi-finals after finishing runner-up in last week’s Miss Birmingham which was her first-pageant ever. In addition, she has decided to compete in Miss England’s swimwear round by wearing a Burkini.
Maria says that her friends and family are supportive of her decision and are proud of her.
“Muslims are associated with negative things like terrorism. I’m determined to do my bit to challenge those views. It is pretty rare for a Muslim woman to be in a beauty pageant but there’s nothing to stop us entering. I entered Miss Birmingham and the organizers were delighted to have a hijab-wearing Muslim in the competition.”
