Hijab-wearing German beauty contestant takes on the AfD
As a Miss Germany contestant, Büsra Sayed wore a hijab on stage. This had never happened before — and the far-right AfD didn't like it
As a Miss Germany contestant, Büsra Sayed wore a hijab on stage. This had never happened before — and the far-right AfD didn't like it. Her response went viral. It seems Büsra Sayed has truly taken the saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" to heart. After all, she managed to turn a situation that one could only be described as insulting or sad — certainly discriminatory — into a victory, both financially and, above all, for the human spirit. What happened after Büsra Sayed appeared at Miss Germany? In March, Büsra Sayed entered the Miss Germany pageant and even made it to the final round. For the past few years, the pageant has come to be about more than just physical appearance. Today it's all about empowerment, with successful women entering the competition to be recognized primarily for their personality and achievements. Büsra Sayed, 27, is an entrepreneur: She sells and wears hijabs. She also wore a hijab from her own collection on the stage of the Miss Germany pageant. This drew a lot of attention in Germany's media, as Sayed was (alongside one other candidate) one of the two first women in the history of the competition to wear the Muslim headscarf. Just a few days later, the topic came up in the German parliament. In her speech on International Women's Day, Beatrix von Storch, a member of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), expressed her outrage: "A hijab in the Miss Germany finals.
And this woman didn't just wear a hijab — she's a true hijab activist. She's promoting them." Of course, she was referring to Sayed. Von Storch ended by saying: "If having an Islamic activist like that participate in the Miss Germany finals is supposed to be progress, then we're living in Absurdistan — and a very dangerous Absurdistan at that." Beatrix von Storch (AfD) railed against Büsra Sayed's hijab in the Bundestag Image: dts Nachrichtenagentur GmbH/dts-Agentur/picture alliance A few weeks later, in an interview with DW, Büsra Sayed recalled how she felt when she saw the speech. "Actually, I wasn't shocked. I was even a little happy, because I thought to myself, there's really no better way to raise awareness about my mission, the reason I entered the Miss Germany pageant, than to be mentioned in the Bundestag." Before the competition, she described her mission as follows: "I want to help shape a future at Miss Germany where diversity is visible and every woman feels like she belongs. Even with a hijab. Not as a trend, but as a reality." Büsra Sayed's viral 'AfD discount code' reaction Sayed reacted to Beatrix von Storch's speech on social media with her trademark sense of humor. On Instagram and TikTok, she explained that it was the first time that her "friend" from the AfD had done promotional work for her and her brand in the German Bundestag, "so please be nice to her." After a clip of the speech, Sayed ends by noting, "That was her first collab, so she forgot to mention the discount code: 'AfD10' — with it, you'll get 10% off all hijabs." The response was huge, and the reel has already racked up six million views on Instagram alone.
The BriefWire