Hijab-wearing Miss England finalist hopes to inspire women

Sara Iftekhar participated in the beauty pageant to show that beauty does not have a definition

A 20-year-old hijab-clad Miss England finalist Sara Iftekhar aims to inspire other women.

In a first: Hijab wearing 20-year-old to compete in Miss England

While speaking to Haroon Shahid from BBC Asian Network, Sara said that she never thought she would even be amongst the top 50 out of 22,000 women.

PHOTO: THE INDEPENDENT

Discussing the amount of spotlight she has received, Sara stated, "I didn't expect any of this. It came overnight as a shock. There's backlash too. However, the amount of amazing and positive messages I've received is actually unreal."

She added that to be told that "you're an inspiration" when you think of yourself as "just another girl or law student" is strange. But, Sara still feels honoured.

PHOTO: TODAY NEWS

Haroon also questioned the 20-year-old model on modest fashion and if wearing a hijab is a fad. Sara replied, "Hijab is a beautiful thing. At the end of the day, you get to show what you want the outer community to see. I think if you can get to the stage where I got, with keeping myself modest and staying true to myself, it just goes to show that you don't need to dress half naked to get attention."

PHOTO: DNA INDIA

Currently, Sara is planning to complete her law studies and work hard everyday towards inspiring other women to be true to themselves.

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