DUBAI: Miss England contestant Aysha Khan took to social media recently to explain why she chose to wear a wetsuit in the optional swimsuit portion of the competition.
Khan, 21, from Lancashire posted the images of herself on Facebook wearing the wetsuit.
“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,” she captioned the post.
The contestant decided to take part in the optional round on her own terms, telling the Lancashire Telegraph, “This round is completely optional, and I didn’t want to miss out, so I submitted a photo in a surf suit. I wanted to show a different take on swimwear, and that you don’t have to wear a bikini to go to the beach.
“I think other girls can see this and realize that they can do the same. Particularly because of my background, being Muslim too, I wanted to stay true to myself,” she added.
The pageant’s winner will be crowned on August 1.
