Aqila Mumthaz

Sara Iftekhar a law student at the University of Huddersfield, won Miss Huddersfield 2018, crowned Miss Yorkshire Popularity 2018 and faced off 49 other Miss England contestants at Kelham Hall in Newark, Nottinghamshire and while wearing her hijab. While other Muslim contestants donning the hijab have entered the competition, Sara is the first to make it this far into the finals.

The 20-year-old faced the first half of the final, which announced her to have won a place in the top 15, on July 26 and 27, and the two-part finale of the Miss England competition on September 3 and 4. The competition comprised of an ethical fashion show, talent and evening wear catwalk and a presentation of all the award winners. Alisha Cowie was crowned the winner at the Great Hall and in December will represent England at the Miss World 2018 in Sanya, China.

On her Instagram post of her holding her finalist trophy, she wrote, “It was an incredible experience and something which I will never be able to forget. The opportunities which I have received with being a finalist in Miss England are opportunities which I would never have thought of and will forever be grateful for.”

Sara, who set up her own clothing business at 16, created a dress made of bin bags which she wore for the Miss England Semifinals and created a tutorial on Instagram of her eco accessory which she wore for the Miss England 2018 Finals.

As part of the competition, Sara set up an online GoFundMe page to use her platform to raise money for “Beauty with a Purpose” – a Miss World charity that supports underprivileged children, displaced children in Vietnam and cleft palate teams in South America, Sri Lanka and Russia, as well as people affected by natural disasters, founded by Miss World Chair and CEO Julia Morely.

Sara wrote on the fundraising page that her motivation for participating in the pageant was “to show that beauty doesn’t have a definition, everyone is beautiful in their own ways, regardless of their weight, race, colour or shape.”