The 20-year-old British Muslim, Maria Mahmoud, has qualified for the semi-finals of Miss Britain, with a chance to reach the final stage as the first veiled woman to compete for the title "Miss England" (#missengland).
Maria, from Birmingham, says she has received support from her family, friends and the Muslim community in general, but she expects some negative reactions from reactionary people, according to Mirror.
The psychology student won a place in the semi-finals after winning second place in the Miss Birmingham contest last week, her first ever contest.
Maria, who dreams of being a social activist, will participate in the swimsuit competition, wearing Burkini (legitimate swimwear). "Despite the scarcity of Muslim women's participation in beauty competitions, nothing really prevents them from doing so," she said. , According to the same source
"I participated in the Miss Birmingham competition and the organizers were very excited to compete with a veiled Muslim woman in the competition that included 30 girls and I was incredibly disappointed when I won second place."
"My parents and my 3 brothers were very happy when I won second place," she told Mirror, adding that her father, who works as a taxi driver and her part-time mother at a school, gave her full support. Some criticism, I always expect that from conservative people. "
"What I did was in the interest of Muslim women and strengthened their status in British society," she said. "I will wear Burkini when I swim on stage, because open swimsuits are against my religion and beliefs."
This is the first time a veiled Muslim has participated in this competition, "said Angie Paisley, director of the Miss Britain contest.
The semi-finals of the Miss Britain contest in Newark Benotts are expected to be held in June. Hamsa Kohistani, the first non-veiled Muslim to win the Miss Britain title in 2005, was 18 years old.
