In August, a hijabi known as Nurul Shamsul will compete in the Miss Universe finals in New Zealand — and to everyone’s surprise, she’s of Malay descent!
This marks her as the first Malay woman to be a part of this competition. If she wins, she will then go on to compete for the title of Miss Universe with Filipina winner Pia Wurtzbach as one of the judges. (Ehem, team Malaysia, take note 😋)
The 20-year-old New Zealand-based student, who is of Malaysian and Indonesian heritage, wrote on her Instagram account about a month ago that, “I am so happy and excited to announce that I am in the finals for Miss Universe New Zealand!”
She added, “As a hijabi I will be the first in New Zealand to make it to the finals and one of the first in the world to ever do so. I hope that this opportunity will help break boundaries and stereotypes. I also hope that together we can redefine the meaning of what beauty is.”
Born and raised in New Zealand, Nurul, who attends the University of Waikato in the country’s North Island, was shortlisted in the beauty pageant’s Top 20 finalists for the Kiwi region.
The young beauty hasn’t forgotten her roots though, as can be seen in her Instagram posts, Nurul likes to upload photos of her family members as well as her time in Malaysia.
The finals for this year’s edition of Miss Universe New Zealand will be held on Aug 4. You can vote for Nurul via this link.
Good luck, girl! Malaysia is rooting for you <3
[Source]
