Despite heavy opposition, the Miss Canada Pakistan Pageant went ahead as scheduled Saturday night.
The Woodbine Banquet Hall was packed with about 500 spectators, and security was tight as 13 young women vied for the crown. Some Muslim groups in the G.T.A. strongly opposed the event and were worried the contestants would bare too much skin, more than their beliefs allow.
Sixteen-year-old Alysha Jamal was crowned the winner.
“I’ve always wanted to be more involved in my community and I find that this is such a perfect way, especially that it’s going to help me bring about change that will make women more independent – Pakistani women – and make people look at them in a better way,” she explained.
Apparently, the pressure was too much for one contestant who reportedly dropped out of the contest for an unknown reason just hours before the show was set to start. Organizers replaced the swimsuit competition with a more formal, traditional wear element hoping to appease those against the event.
“Nowhere in Islam are we allowed to have a parade of men or women in the public as objectifying either sex,” Haroon Salamat of the Taric Islamic Centre of Toronto said.
This beauty pageant has been in existence for three years and has been raising concerns ever since. The organizer of the event, Sonia Ahmed, said some detractors had sent e-mails and letters before the contest and she explained the controversy surrounding the pageant wasn’t just about religious concerns, but about the fact that it threatens male dominance.
For contestant Sharzi Hudda, the contest was about young women providing a strong voice for all Pakistani women.
Hudda faced opposition to her participation in the pageant within her own family. All of her relatives of Muslim descent objected – except her mother Shabira.
“My mother has just been my right hand side through this whole thing … I really look up to this woman,” she said.
March 19, 2005
I PICKED THIS UP OFF THE INTERNET VIA THE TORONTO STAR !
I SAW THE CLIP AND THOUGHT THE PAKISTANI GIRLS LOOKED OK but WERE PRETTY BACKWARD, UNSOPHISTICATED, AWKWARD AND UNREHEARSED TO EVEN GET CLOSE TO THE INDIAN GIRLS IN AN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION !
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK. WILL THE CULTURAL RESTRICTIONS AND CURTAILING FREEDOM OF WOMEN STUNT THE POTENTIAL OF THE ‘POOR’ PAKISTANI WOMEN TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO COMPETE SUCCESSFULLY IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA IN THE AREA OF BEAUTY
4m my side … we r 4m Islamic country v should not participate in these things … 
o sh!t … 
.. i don’t know wat will happen 2 pak .. if … start representing pakistan …