The first internationally-recognised Miss Iraq beauty contest in more than 40 years was supposed to present a gentler, softer side to a country whose name has become synonymous with violence and bloodshed.
Instead, organisers are facing an angry backlash from religious hardliners and conservative tribal leaders who say such pageants are un-Islamic and threaten public morality . At least two young women have pulled out of the contest after receiving death threats. Organisers have dropped the swim suit section of the competi tion and postponed the tele vised finale in an attempt to deflect some of the criticism However, the organisers and most contestants, back ed by many ordinary Iraqis remain determined to press ahead with an event they see as marking a step towards normalcy in a society still de eply divided and traumati sed 12 years after the US-led overthrow of Saddam Husse in. “There are many indications that Iraq is finished, but such contests give hope that life in Iraq goes on,“ said pageant spokesman and one of its judges Senan Kamel.
“We deliberately organised the competition according to standards appropriate to Iraqi society to prove to the world that Iraq is a civilised country with a civic soul and a spirit of life,“ Kamel added.
