I’ll stay true to my beliefs, vows lovely Iman
Muslim Miss SA contestant asks community to accept her choices
A PROUDLY Muslim model, a globe-trotting style maven and a number-crunching engineering student are three of the young women vying for this year’s Miss South Africa crown.
Iman Sheikh, 18, is a Durban clinical psychology student and model whose favourite book is the Koran. She decided to enter in part to fulfil a wish that her parents, Shahim and Rene, had for her.
“I was just browsing online one Sunday afternoon and I came across the Miss South Africa website and thought I might try, because you never know what might happen.”
Sheikh believes her background makes her a perfect ambassador for the Rainbow Nation.
“My mom is part coloured and part white and my dad is part Arab, part Indian and part coloured,” she explained.
“I am Muslim. I’m not going to forget where I come from and I’m not going to forget my religion and what I stand for. I am proud to be Muslim.
“If it means I have to sacrifice a little bit of who I am so that thousands of other girls can be a part of my journey and be empowered, then so be it.
“I hope that the Muslim community supports my decision. It’s not easy, and I understand that.
“My family has been very supportive. I have never done anything that is too provocative or pushed too many boundaries. I have always stayed humble and always stayed grounded. I have never lost who I am. It took some time for some people to come around and that’s a given, in the circumstances.”
Politics graduate Safiyah Vally has lived in India, Dubai, London, Barcelona and Granada.
Currently based in Johannesburg, the 22-year-old is a public relations specialist, freelance stylist, writer and blogger. She hopes to share her ideas with South Africans during the course of the contest, as she believes previous Miss SA titleholders have done.
“If I can inspire the people around me, then I feel I can