Ashley Burnham: 2015 Mrs. Universe To Use Crown In Tackling Urgent Socal Issues

First Nations Canadian Ashley Burnham, who was recently been crowned 2015 Mrs. Universe, said that she will utilize her crown as a platform to speak out on different types of physical and sexual abuse being experienced by women around the world. She also aims to use her crown to help out aboriginal people across her country.

The 25-year-old Canadian has stated that she survived physical and sexual abuse during her childhood by turning to her culture rather than to drugs or alcohol. She credits her Cree heritage for what she has become, and she has made it a point to showcase her culture during the pageant, wearing a variation of a jingle dress during the costume segment and performing a traditional dance during the contest's talent portion, according to CTV News.

"I pushed myself into my culture, into my beliefs and my traditions, and I used that to find myself and to heal," she said.

She also states that the competition's theme this year, which focuses on domestic violence, is one of the reasons why she was drawn to the competition.

"I thought, this is a perfect platform for me because I'm relatable to people, I've experienced this myself and I'm able to speak about it. I'm glad I'm able to use this title as a way to speak for others that can't speak for themselves," she said.

The young actress, model and motivational speaker was crowned in Minsk, Belarus, last Saturday. Despite her title, however, she maintains that she is not a typical beauty queen, reports NITV.

"Did you really think I was going to just sit there and look pretty? Definitely not. I have a title, a platform and a voice to make change and bring awareness to First Nations issues here in Canada," she said.

Beauty queens have recently become more active on issues that are socially relevant. Just recently, the winner of the 2014 Miss Universe pageant responded personally to Donald Trump's challenge to give up her crown, as covered by this HNGN article.

Tags

Canadian, Canada, Sexual abuse, Culture, Domestic violence, Beauty Pageant