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The first Miss Pakistan World winner, Zehra Sheerazi from Karachi, Pakistan.

Miss Pakistan World (Urdu: دوشیزه دنیا پاکستان; transliteration: مس پاکستان ورلڈ) is an annual and unofficial national beauty pageant held in Canada and organised by the Miss Canada Pakistan Inc. since 2002. It acts as the primary international beauty pageant for women of Pakistani descent.

[edit] History

Crowning moment at the 2008 Miss Pakistan World. The pageant has seen a 412% growth in women enrolling for the competition since its inception in 2003 and has welcomed just as many controversies.

Pakistan's foundation were laid on Islamic ideologies and adheres to a conservative attitudes when it comes to exposure of one's body. In the 50s, Pakistanis tried to achieve a liberal sense of being by declaring it would be sending a contestant for the world renowned Miss Universe beauty pageant but would then roll back its desires after knowing that it was necessary for women to clad themselves in a swimsuit.^[1] Since then the Pakistani attitude has shifted from a moderate to a very conservative one when it comes to matters of beauty contests and pageants.

It was thousands of miles away from Pakistan in Canada that models like Yasmeen Ghauri achieved popularity as a Muslim model of Pakistani descent and it would still be Canada that hosted the first ever Pakistani beauty pageant, the "Miss Canada Pakistan" pageant. Organised by Sonia Ahmed, a Canadian-Pakistani woman. The pageant was held in the 2002 in Ottawa, later to be moved to Toronto. The pageant was only limited to entrants from Canada. After its initial success, the pageant board decided to broaden its scope to allow unmarried Pakistani women from across the globe to enter. The pageant was retitled "Miss Pakistan World" (MPW).

Women born in Pakistan, but now living elsewhere have all participated in the pageant. Most recently the pageant entries received a huge growth as number of participants increased to 586 contestants (15% increase since 2006, and a 412% increase since the pageant's formation). In 2003, Zehra Sheerazi was named the first ever winner of the beauty contest and remains the youngest of those crowned thus far.

[edit] Crown Winners

Miss Pakistan World 2006 Sehr Mahmood, Karachi, Pakistan

2003 – Zehra Sheerazi (Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan)

2004 – Batool Cheema (Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan)

2005 – Naomi Zaman (Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan)

2006 – Sehr Mahmood (Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan)

2007 – Mahleej Sarkari (Bakhshapur, Sindh, Pakistan)

2008 - Natasha Paracha (Islamabad, Punjab, Pakistan)

[edit] Locations

Miss Pakistan World has been held in Ottawa, Canada for its first year; in Mississauga, Ontario (a suburb of Toronto) for the past 4 years; and will be held there again on May 23rd, 2008 at the Versailles Convention Center in Mississauga, Ontario.

Discussions on the future locations of the Miss Pakistan World have included the United States and Dubai, UAE, and eventually Pakistan, however Canada’s media and financial support continues to provide reasoning to keep the pageant near Toronto.

[edit] Criticism

Much controversy has followed the pageant along with its success. Where conservative Muslims have shown great disapproval with this pageant, the usually vague association of the pageant title with Pakistan is often questioned. Like all other international pageants, this competition, even though relatively unknown to the public, has attracted criticism for objectifying women and being in deep contrast to Pakistani traditions. The Government of Pakistan, the Pakistani fashion industry, or the general Pakistani media does not endorse the pageant. The current stance of the Pakistani Government on the event has not been supportive as some ministers have tried to ban the use of the 'Miss Pakistan' sash^[2]. Furthermore, it wasn't much recognised up until 2007, when the organisers were questioned about their controversial marketing stunts and gimmicks.^[3]

The pageant's president Sonia Ahmed along with 2007 winner Mahleej Sarkari were invited to the Nadia Khan Show on Geo TV to debate this criticism. Discussing some of the issues, Ahmed and Nadia Khan, the host of the show fell into a harsh exchange of words and the host was snubbed strongly by the president of the pageant towards the end of the show. Khan went on to criticise the pageant in follow-ups for her show for which the television network never apologised for. Ahmed accused the network of promoting yellow journalism.

2007 winner Mahleej Sarkari at Miss Tourism Queen International. She was at the centre of a few controversies for the better half of her reign as Miss Pakistan World.

Mahleej Sarkari's controversial statements calling President Musharraf a 'hunk' and wanting to date him were not well received and were often quoted in Indian media to arouse and stir controversy. Photos of contestants from El Salvador and Jamaica holding a picture of Musharraf in his army uniform and blowing kisses at it were published along with the winner's comments.^[5] Although Pakistani media hasn't shed much light on the events, most media analysts consider the statements a publicity stunt. The promotions for the pageant were also criticised for using the name Pakistan within its title, where critics would argue that the usage was only for advertising purposes and gimmicks rather than actually promoting Pakistani culture.

The pageant has faced a lot of criticism due to the inclusion of a swimsuit competition in the pageant format.However, Ahmed stressed the inclusion was vital as it gives the pageant an international credibility and that girls participating in the pageant should feel comfortable wearing swimsuits if they were to participate in pageants at an international level. Times of Karachi put the subject of exposure in swimwear, that the Canadian pageant practices, in front of a judging audience as "having physical appearances assessed and judged in a cattle market".^[1]

In 2006, Mariyah Ashraf Moten was selected to compete in the Miss Bikini Universe pageant, the Government of Pakistan disowned with contempt the association of the name Pakistan with the title.^[6] The organisers of the Miss Pakistan World pageant have been thorough even in proving Musharraf's cap on religious extremism and adoption of 'enlightened moderation' is nothing but fad but what the pageant officials failed to recognise was the fact that it was necessary to ask for permission from the government at least. In fact, Ahmed has made it clear that they haven't had any formal discussions with members of the government or any official in the government regarding the association of the pageant's identity with the name of the nation. It was found that American Moten wasn't even a Pakistani citizen. In one statement, senior Ministry of Culture official Abdul Hafeez Chaudhry stressed that the ministry had asked the missions in Washington and Beijing to investigate into the policy of whether a person not holding a country's passport still be allowed to participate under the country's name.^[7] Moten wasn't the first to accept the blame. Neelam Noorani in 2002 was put under the fire as Tariq Janjua, the then Culture Secretary said that “such contests are a total contrast to the social and cultural values of Pakistan, our religion Islam disapproves all such acts.”^[6]

[edit] Racist Comments

While returning to Canada from Dubai after their appearance in the Nadia Khan Show, Sarkari and Ahmed's passports were reportedly confiscated by the police at the airport after Ahmed passed a racist comment directed at on the customer services personnel for delaying the processing of their documents. They were restricted from boarding the plane unless they apologise for their misbehaviour. The organiser and the crowned winner would still not apologise and it was after a member of the Geo TV staff apologised on their behalf were they allowed to board the plane.^[8]

[edit] Mrs. Pakistan World

In 2006, Misbah Iqbal was crowned the first ever Mrs. Pakistan World and took reign for 2007. The spin-off pageant of Miss Pakistan World is in its second year and has shown an increase in applicants at the same level as Miss Pakistan World. Mrs. Pakistan World 2007 was the first married Muslim woman to compete on the international stage in the Mrs. World 2007 pageant.

In December of 2007, shortly before the assassination of former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto, a Pakistani woman living in San Francisco, Saman Hasnain was crowned Mrs. Pakistan World 2008. Saman Hasnain belongs to Lahore, Pakistan. Her reign began during a year when progressive Pakistani women felt that much of their hope for liberation had been taken away. Hasnain aims to compete in the Mrs. World 2008 pageant and bring more awareness and appreciation to Muslim women throughout the world.

[edit] All Title Holders

Miss Pakistan World

Mrs. Pakistan World

International Titles