Somali-American teen becomes the first Miss USA hopeful to wear a hijab and a burkini
Halima Aden, 19, competed in the Miss Minnesota pageant on Sunday
The Somali-American teen made the top 15, before being cut
Aden says she entered the competition to bust misconceptions about Muslim women
The St Cloud State University freshman was born in a Kenyan refugee camp and moved to the U.S. when she was seven years old
The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to the largest contingent of Somalian ex-patriots in the country
A 19-year-old Somali-American woman became the first contestant in history to wear a hijab during the Miss Minnesota beauty pageant
Halima Aden of St. Cloud competed in the scholarship competition on Sunday, making it to the top 15 out of a field of 44 other women. However, she was cut before the finals.
Like the other young women in the competition, Aden modeled a series of outfits. But she stuck to her conservative Muslim dress code, covering her head with a hijab and wearing a burkini during the swimsuit competition. A burkini is a swimsuit worn by many Muslim women, which covers most of the body.
