It seems Büsra Sayed has truly taken the saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” to heart. After all, she managed to turn a situation that one could only be described as insulting or sad — certainly discriminatory — into a victory, both financially and, above all, for the human spirit.
What happened?
Last March, Büsra Sayed entered the Miss Germany pageant and even made it to the final round.
For the past few years, the pageant has come to be about more than just physical appearance. Today it’s all about empowerment, with successful women entering the competition to be recognized primarily for their personality and achievements. Büsra Sayed, 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 drew a lot of attention in the German media, as Sayed was (alongside one other candidate) one of the two first women in the history of the competition to wear the Muslim headscarf.
Just a few days later, the topic came up 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 in the Miss Germany finals. And this woman didn’t just wear a hijab — she’s a true hijab activist. She’s promoting them.”
Of course, she was referring to Sayed. Von Storch ended by saying: “If having an Islamic activist like that participate in the Miss Germany finals is supposed to be progress, then we’re living in Absurdistan — and a very dangerous Absurdistan at that.”
Beatrix von Storch (AfD) railed against Büsra Sayed’s hijab in the BundestagImage: dts Nachrichtenagentur GmbH/dts-Agentur/picture alliance
A few weeks later, in an interview with DW, Büsra Sayed recalled how she felt when she saw the speech. “Actually, I wasn’t shocked. I was even a little happy, because I thought to myself, there’s really no better way to raise awareness about my mission, the reason I entered the Miss Germany pageant, than to be mentioned in the Bundestag.”
Prior to 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 a hijab. Not as a trend, but as a reality.”
Viral reaction with ‘AfD discount code’
Sayed reacted to Beatrix von Storch’s speech on social media with her trademark sense of humor. On Instagram and TikTok, she explained that it was the first time that her “friend” from the AfD had done promotional work for her and her brand in the German Bundestag, “so please be nice to her.” After a clip of the speech, Sayed ends by noting, “That was her first collab, so she forgot to mention the discount code: ‘AfD10’ — with it, you’ll get 10% off all hijabs.”
The response was huge, and the reel has already racked up six million views on Instagram alone. “People have shown their solidarity not only in the comments, but also in our shop, even though they’re not Muslim,” Sayed explains. “Non-Muslim women and men suddenly ordered hijabs. We had comments from Christian woman pastors, saying we’re ordering hijabs, too, just out of solidarity. That was totally overwhelming.”
Huge community
Sayed’s account now boasts over 160,000 followers. “Many great, new people have joined my community, and I’m very, very proud. And our ‘AfD Blue’ hijab (editor’s note: that she spontaneously added to her inventory) is now almost sold out.”
The entrepreneur emphasizes that the reels weren’t at all meant to boost sales. She has been using her newly acquired attention to fight against discrimination. “The more people stick together in a diverse society and the higher the level of equality, the more people will fight for this newfound equality,” she writes on Instagram, calling for honest dialog.
Fighting hate with love
Of course, not all reactions have been positive. AfD supporters also pop up in her comments. But that’s nothing new for Büsra Sayed. “I started getting hate comments and encountering discrimination from early on. And back then, the younger me didn’t know how to deal with it,” she said. “I was completely paralyzed by shock, I didn’t have a witty comeback and felt afraid. But for me, it was clear I had to find a way to deal with it, because it’s not going to stop from one day to the next, unfortunately.” She countered hate with love — “but where I draw a line is threats of violence. I report them to the police, of course.”
At the invitation of SPD Bundestag member Rasha Nasr, she recently visited the German parliament. And of course, there’s a reel about it.
The last couple of weeks have brought their fair share of excitement to Büsra Sayed. After taking time to digest everything, she feels positive looking back at the experience. “It gave me — and many other people as well — hope to see how many people spoke up and showed solidarity. You generally hear just negative voices, because they’re normally louder,” she says. “We definitely need more of this solidarity. We have to be visible and fight together against the right.”
This article was originally written in German.