Looks like Bushra Saeed has truly taken the saying “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” to life. After all, she managed to turn a situation that could only be described as humiliating or tragic – certainly discriminatory – into a victory, financial and, above all, for the human spirit.
What happened?
Last March, Busra Syed entered the Miss Germany pageant and even reached the final round.
Over the years, this competition has become more important than just physical appearances. Today it is all about empowerment, successful women are entering the competition primarily to be recognized for their personality and achievements. Busra Saeed, 27, is an entrepreneur: she sells and wears hijabs.
She also wore a hijab from her own collection on the stage of the Miss Germany pageant. This attracted much attention in the German media, as she was said (along with another candidate) to be one of the two first women to wear a Muslim headscarf in the history of the contest.
A few days later the issue was raised in the German Parliament. In her speech on International Women’s Day, Beatrix von Storch, a member of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), expressed her outrage: “A hijab at the Miss Germany final. And this woman didn’t just wear a hijab – she is a true hijab activist. She is promoting them.”
Of course, she was referring to Saeed. Von Storch concluded by saying: “If having an Islamic activist participating in the Miss Germany final is considered progress, then we are living in Absurdistan – and a very dangerous Absurdistan at that.”
A few weeks later, in an interview with DW, Bushra Saeed recalled how she felt when she saw the speech. “Actually, I was not surprised. I was even a little happy, because I thought to myself, there is no better way to raise awareness of my mission, which is why I entered the Miss Germany pageant, than to be mentioned in the Bundestag.”
Before the competition, she described her mission as follows: “I want to help shape a future at Miss Germany where diversity is visible and every woman feels like she belongs. Even with the hijab. Not as a trend, but as a reality.”
Viral reaction with ‘AFD discount code’
Saeed reacted to Beatrix von Storch’s speech on social media with his trademark sense of humor. On Instagram and TikTok, she explained that it was the first time that her “friend” from the AfD had campaigned for her and her brand in the German Bundestag, “so please be nice to him.” After a clip of the speech, Saeed finished by saying, “That was her first collab, so she forgot to mention the discount code: ‘AFD10’ – with this, you’ll get 10% off on all hijabs.”
The response was huge, and the reel has already been viewed six million times on Instagram alone. “People have shown their solidarity not only in comments but also in our shop, even if they are not Muslims,” Saeed explains. “Non-Muslim women and men suddenly ordered hijabs. We had comments from Christian female pastors saying we were also ordering hijabs out of solidarity. It was completely overwhelming.”
large community
Saeed now has more than 160,000 followers on his account. “So many great, new people have joined my community, and I’m very, very proud. And our ‘AFD Blue’ hijab (editor’s note: which she unintentionally added to her list) is now almost sold out.”
The entrepreneur emphasizes that the reels were not at all meant to increase sales. She is using her newly acquired attention to fight against discrimination. Calling for honest dialogue, she writes on Instagram, “The more people live together in a diverse society and the higher the level of equality, the more people will fight for this new equality.”
fighting hate with love
Of course, not all reactions have been positive. AfD supporters also appear in his comments. But this is nothing new for Bushra Saeed. “Right from the beginning, I started receiving hate comments and faced discrimination. And at that time, when I was young, I didn’t know how to deal with it,” she said. “I was completely stunned by the shock, I couldn’t regain consciousness and was scared. But to me, it was clear that I had to find a way to deal with it, because it’s unfortunately not going to stop from one day to the next.” She countered the hate with love – “But where I draw the line is threats of violence. Of course, I report them to the police.”
At the invitation of SPD Bundestag member Rasha Nasr, he recently visited the German parliament. And yes, there is a reel about it.
The past few weeks have brought Bushra Saeed her fair share of excitement. After taking time to digest everything, she looks back on the experience feeling positive. She says, “It gave me – and many other people too – hope to see how many people spoke out and showed solidarity. You usually only hear the negative voices, because they are usually louder.” “We definitely need more of this solidarity. We have to show up and fight together against the right.”
This article was originally written in German.