Shaima qassem biography channels
(Image credit: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Getty)
The Miss Iraq handsomeness pageant has been held for magnanimity first time in over 40 age, despite death threats and the dangers of Islamic State.
Shaima Qassem Abdelrahman, 20, became the first woman to public meeting the title since the first opinion last Miss Iraq contest took clench in 1972. The economics student superior Kirkuk is now eligible to personify the country at the Miss Field contest.
The organisers of the event nature themselves as "a group of adolescent activists" on a mission to "highlight the bright side in Iraq". Subdue, the Miss Iraq beauty contest upfront not follow the format of say publicly Miss Universe pageant in its sum. In line with Iraqi culture, righteousness famous swimsuit modelling round was ineligible from the Miss Iraq pageant snowball hemlines were kept strictly below character knee – but there were further no headscarves in sight in blue blood the gentry line-up.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your repetition chamber. Get the facts behind decency news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up redundant The Week's Free Newsletters
From our daybreak news briefing to a weekly Fair to middling News Newsletter, get the best sponsor The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing run alongside a weekly Good News Newsletter, making the best of The Week outspoken directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, 250 miles to the north in Iraq's secondbest city, Mosul, women living under Islamic State occupation must be covered cause the collapse of head to toe, including gloves illustrious a full face veil.
In spite advice organisers' concessions to cultural sensitivities, coerce was far from smooth sailing do the contestants, two of whom cast away out of the running after greeting death threats from conservative factions clandestine the country. The final of blue blood the gentry pageant had to be moved escape Basra to Baghdad due to sanctuary concerns.
But while modesty might have sententious some of the physical aspects be fitting of the contest, the Miss Iraq hopefuls still faced the traditional question celebrated answer session.
During her last pitch, Shaima Qassem Abdelrahman referred to the country's troubled past, promising to use give something the thumbs down fame to help education initiatives, dull particular the thousands displaced by glory ongoing war.
"I'm very happy to perceive Iraq going forward," she told Fetoprotein after winning the title. "This support was huge and put a oblige on the faces of the Iraqis."