DUBAI, 12 October 2006 — Notices for a beauty pageant from an unnamed company has raised eyebrows in the United Arab Emirates, with officials and citizens rejecting the idea of an Emirati beauty queen wearing a swimsuit and a tiara.
The two mobile numbers posted on billboards and newspaper advertisements turned out not to be working, which is probably a good thing, considering the backlash that has been raised by the advertisements calling for contestants in “Miss Emirates 2007.” The advertisements did not state who was sponsoring such an event.
“I personally will never allow any beauty contest to carry the name of the UAE, as this does not represent the UAE in any way,” Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai’s chief of police, told the Emirates Today newspaper.
“We don’t want to encourage women to (indulge in) nudity, as beauty contests require the appearance of the contestants in outfits which contradict with our culture and religion,” he said.
Billboards popped up recently in Dubai and neighboring Sharjah calling for contestants in a pageant that locals have said would never happen.
The UAE government did not approve the billboards. The pageant will require permission from the UAE’s Ministry of Social Affairs. Tamim said.
“I don’t see how it is going to benefit the social life of the UAE,” he added.
The UAE Interior Ministry has announced that it will investigate who was sponsoring the event. According to the advertisements, an unnamed private company in Dubai is seeking contestants, both native and foreign-born.
“Applicants must be between 18 and 28, have a diploma and possess a sufficient level of cultural knowledge,” said the postings, which also called for women.
In Sharjah, people have urged officials to ban such advertisements in the media and discourage similar contests in the future.
Abdullah Najar, a resident of Sharjah, rejected the idea as ridiculous. “The UAE would never allow its girls to be involved in activities that encourage nudity,” he said.
The advertisements have been taken down in the more conservative emirate as of yesterday.
A student at the American University of Sharjah who did not want to be named said her country should not attach its name to such an event.
“Any company that want to organize such a competition for the foreign community is all right for me,” she said. “But it should not name the winner a ‘UAE Beauty Queen’. There are plenty of other names available.”
