Are beautiful girls walking on the catwalk in swimsuits? That's common in a beauty queen contest. However, how if there is a Muslim contestant who consistently wears hijab in such a pageant world? Wow, it is unusual.

The video of Halima Aden, a Somali immigrant living in Minnesota competing as Miss Minnesota in Miss USA, proves that the hijab is common in a beauty contest full of sexy ladies in short dress. When others were wearing swimsuits, Aden was wearing a burkini, a swimsuit that covers most parts of the body.

Despite not winning the competition, Aden earned lots of praises and appreciation on social media, as reported by Daily News. Aden made to Top 15 before being eliminated. However, she has a mission by joining that pageant.During the Miss USA pageant, which is part of the Miss Universe organization formerly owned by U.S President-elect Donald Trump, Aden sent a message that wearing a hijab is a choice, not a sign of oppression. She joined the competition to defy wrong perceptions about Islam.

Aden was born in a Kenyan refugee camp and her family moved to the U.S when she was seven. Aden now is a freshman at St.Cloud University and wants to be a U.S ambassador in the future.She said to Star Tribune that she wanted to be herself and women wearing hijab should be able to seen everywhere.Her mom, Rukia Aden, didn't initially have a plan to watch her daughter in the competition. But she later changed her mind after her relatives told that the prize was a scholarship. She said she supported her daughter and she felt happy to live in the U.S where people can wear and do what they want freely.

The  teen's appearance in the contest at least has succeeded in proving that hijab is the choice, not an oppression. Wearing hijab doesn't limit Muslim women from exploring their potentials.