Iraqi beauty pageants

Miss Iraq Organization
Formation1947
TypeBeauty pageant
HeadquartersBaghdad
Location
Membership
Official language
Arabic
Kurdish
English
Director
Ahmed Laith Salman
Websitemissuniverseiraq.com
missiraq.net

There are a number of Iraqi beauty pageants. Miss Iraq is one of the national beauty pageants in Iraq. Others include Miss World Iraq and Miss Earth Iraq.

History

[edit]
Renee Dangoor, an Iraqi Jew, won the first title of Miss Iraq in 1947.

In 2015 the first season after 43 years absence, the official national beauty contest of Iraq recognized by Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Antiquities has been held in Baghdad.[1] The Miss Iraq titles set to be three categories which are Miss Iraq, Iraq's Maiden of Beauty and Mesopotamian Princess.

The pageant is organized by a group of civil activists, leaders from the beauty/fashion community and with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Antiquities of Iraq.[2]

In 2016, Miss Iraq Organization sent Miss Mesopotamia 2015 winner Susan Amer Sulaimani (Noori), a Kurdish student in Baghdad to participate in the Miss Earth 2016 pageant as Iraq's first representative since 1972 in the Big Four international beauty pageants.[3][4] She wore a dress instead of a bikini during the pageant's press conference.[3]

National franchise holders

[edit]

In the late 2010s, Miss Iraq returned and debuted to the several international beauty pageant, such as Miss Earth in 2016 and then Miss Universe in 2017.[5][6]

Titleholders

[edit]
Year Miss Iraq Governorate
1947 Renée Dangoor Baghdad
1962 Kholoud Saleh Baghdad
1963 Sameera Zeidan Baghdad
1971 Nasik Shali Sulaymaniyah
1972 Wijdan Burhan El-Deen Sulyman Baghdad
2015 Shimaa Qasim[7] Kirkuk
2017 Sarah Idan Babil
2021 Maria Farhad[8] Nineveh Plains
2022 Balsam Hussein[9] Baghdad

International competition

[edit]

The following women have represented Iraq in the international beauty pageant which included Big Four international beauty pageants;[10][11] Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth,[12][13][14] as well as other international platforms.

Miss Universe Iraq

[edit]
  •   : Declared as Winner
  •   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
  •   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
  •   : Ended as special awards winner
Year Governorate Miss Iraq Placement at Miss Universe Special Awards Notes
Did not compete since 2023—present
2022 Baghdad Balsam Hussein[15] Did not compete The Miss Iraq org. decided to send Hussein to Miss Universe 2022 but due to franchise matter, she decided to withdraw from the competition and will be competing at Miss World 2023 instead.
Did not compete between 2018—2021
2017 Baghdad Sarah Idan Unplaced
  • Best National Costume (Top 16)
2016 Kirkuk Shimaa Qasim Did not compete Due to personal reasons, Qasim withdrew at Miss Universe 2016 although her preparation has fit to her for upcoming Miss Universe.
Did not compete between 1973—2015
1972 Baghdad Wijdan Burhan El-Deen Sulyman Unplaced

Miss World Iraq

[edit]
  •   : Declared as Winner
  •   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
  •   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
  •   : Ended as special awards winner
Year Governorate Miss Iraq Placement at Miss World Special Awards Notes
2023 Baghdad Balsam Hussein[16] Unplaced
Miss World 2021 was rescheduled to 16 March 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Puerto Rico, no edition started in 2022.
2021 Nineveh Maria Farhad[17] Unplaced
Did not compete between 2018—2020
2017 Halabja Masty Hama Did not compete
Did not compete between 1999—2016
1998 Baghdad Ban Kadret Did not compete Due to sanctions placed on Iraq, Kadret withdrew because of a disagreement between Eric Morley and the Miss Iraq organizers.

Miss Earth Iraq

[edit]
  •   : Declared as Winner
  •   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
  •   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
  •   : Ended as special awards winner
Year Governorate Miss Iraq Placement at Miss Earth Special Awards Notes
Did not compete since 2023—present
2022 Wasit Jihan Majid[18] Unplaced
2021 Diyala Sima Mohamed[19] Did not compete
Did not compete between 2017—2020
2016 Baghdad Susan Amer[20] Unplaced
Did not compete between 2010—2015
2009 Baghdad Aure Arnulf Did not compete
  •   : Declared as Winner
  •   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
  •   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
  •   : Ended as special awards winner
Year Name
2021 Rayan Ali[21]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Miss Iraq is back after 43 years". CNN. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Miss Iraq begins her year of activities". Kalimba Radio. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b "Iraqi Kurdish beauty, not wear a bikini at Miss Earth press conference". Ekurd Daily. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Kurdish student in Baghdad selected for 2016 Miss Earth Pageant". Rudaw News. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  5. ^ Editorial Staff (2016-10-12). "Iraqi Kurdish beauty, not wear a bikini at Miss Earth press conference". Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  6. ^ Yasmin Khorram (17 December 2017). "Death threats haunt Miss Iraq in wake of selfie controversy". CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  7. ^ "Student Shakes Off Threats to Win Miss Iraq in Name of Women's Rights". NBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Maria Farhad wins Miss Iraq 2021". SyriacPress. 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  9. ^ الرشيد, قناة. "شاهد بالفيديو.. لحظة تتويج ملكة جمال العراق لعام 2022 "بلسم حسين" من بغداد الكرخ". اخبار العراق الآن (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  10. ^ Jun, Kwanwoo (2003-12-03). "Lost in Storm's Debris: A Beauty Pageant". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  11. ^ "Beauty with scandals". Standard Digital News. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  12. ^ "Những scandal của Miss World". Vietnam Express. 2008-10-08. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  13. ^ Ibrahim, Lynda (2013-09-13). "The misses and missuses of the world". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  14. ^ Lowe, Aya (2016-01-25). "Philippines' Miss Universe returns home, ignites dreams". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  15. ^ الرشيد, قناة. "شاهد بالفيديو.. لحظة تتويج ملكة جمال العراق لعام 2022 "بلسم حسين" من بغداد الكرخ". اخبار العراق الآن (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  16. ^ الرشيد, قناة. "شاهد بالفيديو.. لحظة تتويج ملكة جمال العراق لعام 2022 "بلسم حسين" من بغداد الكرخ". اخبار العراق الآن (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  17. ^ "Christian Survivor of ISIS Crowned as Miss Iraq 2021". Albawaba.com. August 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "Miss Earth 2022 Delegates". Miss Earth.
  19. ^ "Miss Earth 2021 Delegates".
  20. ^ Mehta, Ankita (2016-10-12). "Miss Earth 2016: 84 contestants walk in swimsuit; Rashi Yadav to represent India". International Business Times: www.ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  21. ^ "ملكة جمال العراق". 2021-08-20. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
[edit]