Somali-American Teen Becomes the First Contestant to Wear Hijab & a Burkini in the Miss Minnesota Competition

Halima Aden, a Somali–American teenager has made history after becoming the first contestant to wear hijab and a burkini to compete in the Miss Minnesota USA competition. The 19-year old who is a Muslim and student of St. Cloud University participated in the scholarship competition on Sunday. Before the finals, she made it to the top 15 out of a field of 44 other women but didn’t advance further.

During the completion, she modeled a series of outfits but got stuck to her conservative Muslim dress code, covering her head with a hijab and wearing a burkini during the swimsuit competition.

A burkini swimsuit is mainly worn by Muslim women to cover most part of the body.

According to Times Report, Halima who was born in a Kenyan refugee camp by Somali parents, moved to the US with her mother Rukia at the age of seven. She said she competed in her hijab because she wanted to change the misconceptions about Muslim women.

Halima Aden starts off Miss Minnesota USA's swimsuit segment to big cheers from the crowd. Announcer: "She's making history tonight." pic.twitter.com/OUvbHv6xct

— Liz Sawyer (@ByLizSawyer) November 27, 2016