Miss Myanmar comes out as gay even though homosexuality is still punishable with a PRISON sentence in her country

While the contestant from South Africa took home the crown at Miss Universe on Sunday, Miss Myanmar made some news of her own: She was the first-ever openly gay woman to compete in the pageant.

Swe Zin Htet, 21, came out publicly just days before taking the stage at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia on December 8.

And now, she's using her visibility to help the LGBTQ community — especially in her home country of Myanmar, where being gay is illegal.

Htet, who won her Miss Myanmar title back on May 31, came out as a lesbian in an interview with the beauty blog Missosology a week before the Miss Universe finals.

'I came to a full realization about my sexual orientation over a long period of time. I knew I was "one of them" way back in 2015,' she said.

Coming out publicly isn't easy, she said, but she wants to use her platform to help LGBTQ people in Myanmar, a country also referred to as Burma.

'It is personally quite challenging but I feel that I have a greater voice and the best position to promote this cause. Some pageant fans know about it and they still support me but this is the first time I am able to talk about it in public,

'I believe that not all countries allow same-sex marriage. I want the world to accept the LGBTQ+ community and their right to choose their own path and pursuit of happiness,' she said.