Meet Aysha Khan, a Miss England contestant who has made it through to the final stages of the contest.
Khan, a 21 year-old Muslim woman hailing from Blackburn, Lancashire, has redefined the rules by staying true to herself. Competing against 49 other contestants, she entered the swimsuit round, but instead chose to opt for a full-body swimming costume rather than a bikini.
“I decided to enter the round this year, however I wanted to push forward the message that swimwear doesn’t necessarily mean a bikini,” the Education Studies student wrote. “Empowerment can be felt in many different ways and can be promoted in many different ways. Some women may feel more confident showing more skin and some women feel more confident showing less – the message being; empowerment is a personal feeling, and not wearing a bikini does not mean I am not confident about my body.”
Even though the swimsuit round was banned back in 2010, contestants now have an option to participate in the ‘Miss Beach Beauty’ competition. The winners of this round are then fast-tracked into the top 20 entries for the competition.
Aysha Khan did want to participate without having to sport on a bikini. So instead, she decided to share with the world her unique take on fashion for this category.
She went on to add, “I think other girls can see this and realise that they can do the same. Particularly because of my background, being Muslim too, I wanted to stay true to myself.”
The winner for ‘Miss England’ will be crowned on August 1, but we are already rooting for Khan to take home the title!
