When Shaima Qasim was
crowned Miss Iraq this weekend, she not only triumphed over the other women in
the competition but over threats against her life.
The pageant was the
first to be held in Baghdad in 43 years.
"Iraq needed
this," pageant director Ahmed Leith said. "The situation is weak
here, and we wanted to celebrate this the same way other countries like Lebanon
and others do. To have a sense of normalcy."
But as the date of
the event approached, the number of competitors dwindled.
The pageant website
and its Facebook page were inundated with death threats against the women -- so
much so that the nearly 200 participants dropped to less than 10.
In the end, Qasim,
20, an economics major at the University of Kirkuk, received her crown to the
applause of a supportive audience cheering her on for prevailing against the
odds.
For the director
Leith and the rest of the audience, Qasim's victory was about more than winning
a beauty pageant.
"It is about
having the courage to stand against all odds, something we all try to do."
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