Breaking Barriers: Meet First Hijab-Wearing Miss Minnesota USA Contestant!
By amin | Comments: 0 | November 29, 2016This past weekend history was made. Nineteen-year-old Halima Aden became the first woman to compete in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant wearing a hijab for all four rounds of the competition AND she made history as the first woman to wear a burkini in the swimsuit segment.
Making history
Halima, who is Somali-American, made it to the Top 15. Although she didn’t win, she was proud to break down the outdated standards of beauty. She spoke to media after the pageant and told them she entered the pageant to fight Islamophobia and to empower Muslim women. “A lot of people will look at you and will fail to see your beauty because you are covered up and they’re not used to it. So growing up I just had to work on my people skills and give people a chance to really know me besides the clothing.†She later added, “I feel like I’m here to bust those misconceptions and stereotypes of Muslim women.†Standing up for her Muslim community in Minnesota was particularly important for Halima because of Donald Trump. Before he become president, Trump had made comments about Somalian refugees and how Minnesota had suffered by accepting them.
