Beauty pageants all over the globe are breaking the societal beauty norms and crowning women who are beautiful in their own and unique ways.
Loginah Salah, has been crowned Miss Universe Egypt and this will be the first-ever Miss Universe contestant living with vitiligo.
Vitiligo is a skin condition which causes patches of one’s skin to lose pigmentation.
The 34-year-old mother and professional make-up artist was crowned over the weekend and she was amongst the 12 finalists who were aiming for the Miss Universe Egypt 2024 title at an event held in Cairo.
Salah advocates for diversity and inclusivity as she has mentioned on her social media accounts that she had suffered from bullying in the past due to her rare skin condition.
At 8-years-old she was diagnosed with lupus which caused psoriasis and vitiligo.
“It took me 15 years to love,embrace and accept who I am. To find the bless in the mess and since then I decided to be the voice of the voiceless, an advocate for diversity and inclusivity.
“So no child will experience what I experienced. One of the best things I have heard is don't give the advice, live the advice,” she said.
This marks the second Miss Universe contestant who is different and represents a group of individuals who have never been recognised in beauty pageants in the past.
Mia le Roux is the first ever Miss Universe South Africa to challenge the normal beauty standards, redefine beauty and change the stigma around beauty pageants.
Le Roux made a buzz on the internet for being crowned the first ever Miss South Africa who has a partial hearing disability.
This year's Miss Universe competition will be the most historic by far, with the long-running pageant doing away with previous limitations, including age, marital status and body type for all contestants.
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