Dr Sonia Sonia has three thriving dental practices, a loving and supportive husband and two young children.
She says, "life in Australia is wonderful", but also says it has not always been good for her.
Brought up in a traditional orthodox family she says that at the age of 15 her father became physically abusive toward both her mother and herself.
"It didn’t stop for many years," she recalls. " I pushed through and fought back with education as my weapon and the ongoing dream to eventually escape, keeping me going. Since early childhood, I also struggled accepting gender inequality. Objectification of women and harassment sent me searching for a better world, and I found my answer in Australia.
"I had faced the struggle to establish myself. I had little money and no English when I first arrived in 2007, but after what I had endured – there was no giving up and no going back."
Dr Sonia and Her family Source: Supplied
Dr Sonia grew up in middle-class India; girls generally did not have the opportunity to participate in beauty pageants, instead, expected to focus on studies and securing a future. So, she says, with time, life went on and the dreams faded.
But last year she saw an advertisement for Mrs Australia and decided to give it a go.
Despite having never worn high heeled shoes before, let alone owning a pair, and never before having participated in such an event, but she managed to achieve the titles of 'Mrs Earth South Pacific' and GEMA (Global Elite Miss Australia) High Point Winner.
Source: Supplied
She recalls the moment she was announced as a winner, "I felt like my heart skipped a heartbeat. You could not wipe the smile off my face. My cheeks were hurting."
Source: Supplied
"It was an amazing experience. I am so privileged to have met so many wonderful new people, who I now call friends. Girls from all different parts of Australia come together to help each other and join hands for great causes and charities. Mrs Earth Australia 2017 Suzi Dent is next level in the beauty queen world. Newly crowned Mrs Earth Australia 2018 Sangeetha Singh is an inspiration."
She will represent Australia at the International Peagent for Mrs Earth South Pacific and GEMA in June, and says she is also in the process of setting up a charity for domestic and family violence survivors.
