Büsra Sayed, a 27-year-old entrepreneur and hijab designer, made history by wearing a hijab on stage at the Miss Germany pageant. This marked the first time a contestant had done so, drawing immediate criticism from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Sayed entered the competition with a mission to promote diversity and inclusion. She stated: “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.”

On International Women’s Day, AfD MP Beatrix von Storch denounced Sayed in a parliamentary speech, calling her an “Islamic activist” and claiming her participation represented a “dangerous Absurdistan.”

Sayed responded with humor on social media, posting a video thanking her “friend from the AfD” for the free promotion and jokingly offering a discount code “AfD10.” The video went viral, amassing 6 million views on Instagram alone.

The backlash backfired: sales of Sayed’s hijabs skyrocketed, with non-Muslim women and men ordering in solidarity. She even launched a limited-edition “AfD Blue” hijab, which nearly sold out. Her follower count surged past 160,000.

Sayed emphasized that the response was not about profit but about fighting discrimination. She called for “honest dialog” and solidarity against right-wing extremism, while noting that she reports threats of violence to the police.

Recently, she visited the German parliament at the invitation of SPD MP Rasha Nasr. Sayed expressed hope from the widespread support, stating: “We have to be visible and fight together against the right.”

Source: www.dw.com