Will Saudi Arabia be present in the competition this year?

Miss Universe “We are currently going through a rigorous process to select a potential candidate for the franchise in Saudi Arabia.”says Maria José Onda, the organization’s international relations coordinator.

The decision is awaited “Very very soon”and he ” maybe “ The Gulf Kingdom has a representative for the next edition of the competition scheduled to be held in September in Mexico.

Behind this announcement, there was a controversy launched by a model from Riyadh who claimed last March that she had been chosen as a candidate for Miss Universe, which the organization later denied.

Saudi Arabia’s participation in this international beauty contest, if confirmed, would be part of the kingdom’s desire to improve its image, to attract tourists and investors.

The birthplace of Wahhabism, the strict interpretation of Islam, Saudi Arabia has launched societal reforms in recent years, under young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, easing restrictions on women and opening its economy to entertainment.

The world’s largest oil exporter has long been associated with the oppression of women due to extremely strict rules imposed on them, such as a ban on driving and the requirement to wear the abaya and hijab. These restrictions were lifted a few years ago, but the Personal Status Law, which came into effect in 2022, still contains provisions that discriminate against women.

At the end of March, a model from Riyadh, Rumi Al-Qahtani, caused a stir on social media when she announced to hundreds of thousands of her Instagram subscribers that she was… “Honoring” For being selected to represent the Kingdom in the Miss Universe competition. The 27-year-old woman’s post included a picture of herself wearing a tight, short dress, and carrying the green Saudi flag, the color of Islam.

Less than a week later, Miss Universe issued a statement describing Ms. Al-Qahtani’s message “False and misleading” He stated that no selection process has been implemented in the country yet.

At her home in Riyadh, where she lives with her mother and sister, Romi Al-Qahtani confirms that the competition organizers contacted her. “The Miss Universe Committee contacted me to represent Saudi Arabia. We are still negotiating and I hope this will lead to a happy ending.”She said.

But according to the president of Miss Universe, the procedure stipulates that a competition be organized in Saudi Arabia by the national representative to choose who will go to Mexico.

“We do not know why Al-Qahtani announced her candidacy, but if she wanted to participate in the competition in Saudi Arabia, she would have to go through the same selection process as all the other candidates.”Maria José Onda said.

Al-Qahtani claimed that she had previously participated in several beauty pageants in the Middle East and Europe, where she displayed the scarves that she said she obtained from these competitions.

She also said she sometimes had to answer unexpected questions about Saudi Arabia, particularly from a European competitor who asked her if she had barrels of oil at home.

“Rumi encouraged a lot of girls.”

In her country, this model said that she faced criticism, especially after she appeared wrapped in the Saudi flag. “There were negative comments.”She said while “Many athletes take pictures of themselves knowing the same way.”.

“Also in beauty contests, every girl wears her country’s flag. I didn’t want to be offensive at all.”she added.

Despite the criticism, her mother said it pushed her to continue on her path. “I always tell her to keep going, that she has come a long way for Saudi women.”Fawzia Ayed said: “Rumi encouraged a lot of girls.”