Over the weekend, nineteen-year-old Halima Aden became the first contestant to wear a hijab and burkini during the Miss Minnesota USA pageant where she competed against 45 women for the title. Though Ms. Aden, who was born in a Kenyan refugee camp and moved to Minnesota as a child, ultimately didn’t win, she said she was more concerned with “busting” misconceptions about Muslim women. “A lot of people will look at you and will fail to see your beauty because you’re 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,” remarks the beauty contestant.
