Will Pakistan's first Miss Universe be allowed to participate in the pageant?

Pakistan is in a mess – it’s economy is in the doldrums, fuel prices have increased to unprecedented highs, exceeding Rs 330 per litre and inflation has skyrocketed to 27.38 per cent. However, it’s not the economy or the political predicament that has got the country’s authorities and some scholars seeing red. They are angry about a ‘Miss Universe Pakistan’ being crowned and her participation at the international event scheduled to be held in El Salvador in November. We take a closer look at who exactly is the newly-crowned ‘Miss Universe Pakistan’, how this ‘disaster’ unfolded. Furore over Miss Universe Pakistan Last Thursday (14 September), Pakistani model Erica Robin from Karachi won the crown of Miss Universe Pakistan in an event held in Maldives. According to reports, the event was organised by Dubai-based company Yugen Group and featured five contestants from Pakistan. Incidentally, the Yugen Group owns the franchise rights to Miss Universe Bahrain and Miss Universe Egypt, according to UAE-based publication The National. However, it turns out that the government had not given permission for the country to have a Miss Universe Pakistan. In fact, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar had directed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to investigate who is arranging the beauty contest and using Pakistan’s name to participate in the Miss Universe beauty pageant. [caption id=“attachment_13138262” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Yugen Group organised the Miss Universe Pakistan contest and chose five women, including Erica Robin, for it. Image Courtesy: @missuniversepakistan/Instagram[/caption] The IB then submitted to the PM a report in which it stated that Yugen Publishing and Marketing had secured the rights and the contestants had been selected through a poll from amongst a pool of 200 applicants from around the world. According to a report in The News, PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has now also directed the Foreign Office to contact the UAE government on the matter. The matter gained the government’s attention after religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani slammed the contest on social media platform, X. He demanded that the government take notice of the situation and “take action against those responsible as well as desist itself from the matter.” Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan was also critical of the contest, posting that such contests were “shameful” for Pakistan. Journalist Ansar Abbasi also came down heavily on the contest organisers, asking government functionary had approved sending Pakistani women to participate in the beauty pageant. Responding to him, Information Minister Murtaza Solangi then posted that the government had not officially nominated anyone for such activities. But not all were unhappy with the contest and Robin’s win. Rights activist Zohra Yusuf questioned why there was a furore over the event. In a report published by The Dawn, she was quoted as saying, “First, Malala Yousafzai and Sharmeen Chinoy were reviled, and now this young woman is being targeted. This attitude is misogynistic and condemnable,” she said. Mariana Babar, who has been a journalist in Pakistan, also praised Robin, saying on X, “Pakistan belongs to all. Every Pakistani can represent anywhere, whenever, however.” [caption id=“attachment_13138272” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Many in Pakistan are unhappy over the Miss Universe contest. They have slammed such contests as “shameful” for Pakistan. Image Courtesy: @ericarobin_official/Instagram[/caption] Erica Robin, Miss Universe Pakistan But even as the criticism over the contest and Pakistan’s first ever entry into the beauty pageant, many were wondering who exactly is Erica Robin, the winner of it all. According to reports, 24-year-old Robin will be the first ever contestant from Pakistan to participate in the Miss Universe pageant to be held later in November in El Salvador. The 24-year-old, was born in a Christian family in Karachi, Pakistan. She did her schooling from St Patrick’s Girls High School and then went to Government College of Commerce and Business Administration in Chandigarh. She began her modelling career in January 2020 and made her debut appearance in the July 2020 issue of DIVA Magazine Pakistan. Subsequently, she went on to be a part of various shoots and fashion shows of multiple Pakistani fashion brands. [caption id=“attachment_13138282” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Erica Robin of Karachi, who won the Miss Universe Pakistan contest, started her professional modelling career in January 2020 and appeared in the July 2020 issue of DIVA Magazine Pakistan. Image Courtesy: @ericarobin_official/Instagram[/caption] On winning the title, she was quoted as saying, “I am honoured and humbled to be the first ever Miss Universe Pakistan and I want to highlight the beauty of Pakistan.” She told The Voice of America in an interview, “I’m under a lot of pressure and have a lot of responsibility. However, I won’t do anything that would harm the reputation of the country.” She added that she wanted to throw light on the generous and friendly side of Pakistan. “We have a beautiful culture that the media is not talking about. Pakistanis are extremely friendly, generous, and welcoming,” she said, adding that she wanted people to visit Pakistan and try out the “sumptuous Pakistani cuisines and explore their enchanting nature”. According to a GeoTV report, she also thanked pageant fans for “believing in me and motivating me to come out of my comfort zone. This is not what I expected and I just want to motivate other women as well who (are) talented and who need a little push to come out of the box and do what they can.” [caption id=“attachment_13138302” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Erica Robin said she was aware of the huge responsibility on her shoulders after winning the title. In an interview, she said she wouldn’t do anything that would harm the reputation of the country. Image Courtesy: @missuniversepakistan/Instagram[/caption] The history of Miss Universe pageant Erica Robin’s win and her participation at the Miss Universe pageant will be a first for Pakistan, if the government allows it. The event started in 1952 as a marketing stunt by a California clothing company, Pacific Knitting Mills. According to the rules, any country can compete in Miss Universe — all they need to do is pay a fee to the organisation for franchise rights. However, this is partially why some smaller countries do not participate. They simply cannot afford it. In today’s world, many slam the pageant for being a medium to objectify women, a claim that the organisers of the event have refuted. The organisers maintain that winners must have intelligence and poise to handle the demands of their title. But a former judge had told Forbes in 2011 that the winner is decided predominantly on her looks. Also read: Miss Universe Indonesia rocked by sexual abuse allegations: Is it time to stop beauty pageants? Recently, the pageant came under fire and the organisation cut its ties with its Indonesian franchisee after contestants accused local organisers of sexual harassment. In early August, six contestants of a Miss Universe Indonesia pageant filed complaints with police, accusing local organisers of asking them to strip to their underwear for “body checks” for scars or cellulite, in a room with about two dozen people present, including men. Five of them also said they were then photographed topless. With inputs from agencies