Black Press Media is a proud partner of the Miss BC pageants, with this year鈥檚 event taking place June 29 - July 1 in Fort Langley. As part of the People鈥檚 Choice Award, we are posting contestants鈥� biographies online for readers to learn more about the women and girls from their communities and to put in their vote.

Submitted by Ikram A. from Surrey:

Hi! My name is Ikram and I live in the lively city of Surrey in British Columbia. I will be starting my first year at Douglas College in their Criminology program. I hope to pursue a career in the justice system. My goal is to provide my services towards the Surrey communities鈥� greater good.

Growing up, I never saw girls that looked like me being everyone鈥檚 style icon or even in media whatsoever. I joined Miss BC to represent young Muslim women around the world and to bring light to my misunderstood community of faith. As said by Angelina Jolie, 鈥淭he sun doesn鈥檛 lose its beauty when its covered by the clouds. The same way your beauty doesn鈥檛 fade when being covered by a Hijab鈥�. This is a very uplifting quote for me and for my Muslim sisters because it is a reminder that one can find beauty in even the most concealed ways and that there are no limits to what defines beauty today.

With the knowledge I have now and with everything I鈥檒l learn at Miss BC, I want to travel to different parts of the world teaching young girls to have confidence within themselves while giving them the tools to be the best version of themselves that I know they want to be.