RIYADH, April 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Saudi Arabia could have its first Miss
Universe contestant this year, organisers said this week, after a fashion
model and influencer claimed she had been selected.
 
The Miss Universe Organization "is currently undergoing a rigorous vetting
process qualifying a potential candidate to be awarded the Saudi Arabia
franchise", Maria Jose Unda, the organisation's coordinator of international
relations, said in a statement to AFP.

"We'll have a decision on the National Director for Saudi Arabia very, very
soon," she said, noting it was "possible" for Saudi Arabia to have a
contestant in place before the next edition of the competition, scheduled for
September in Mexico.

The statement came after Saudi model Rumy al-Qahtani created a buzz online in
late March when she posted to her hundreds of thousands of Instagram
followers that she was "honoured" to represent Saudi Arabia at Miss Universe
at the upcoming event.

The post included pictures of Qahtani, a 27-year-old native of Riyadh, in a
sequined dress holding the green Saudi flag inscribed with the shahada, or
Islamic creed.

Less than a week later, Miss Universe issued a statement referring to
Qahtani's post as "false and misleading" and saying no selection process had
been carried out in the Gulf kingdom.

Fielding a Miss Universe candidate, if it happens, would mark another step in
Saudi Arabia's effort to soften its ultra-conservative image as Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, tries to lure tourists and
investors.
 
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude oil exporter, has long been
associated with the repression of women because of former rules such as a ban
on driving and a requirement to wear abaya robes.

While those restrictions have been lifted, human rights activists say a
personal status law that took effect in 2022 still discriminates against
women when it comes to matters concerning marriage, divorce and child-
rearing.

And women, including prominent activists, have been rounded up in a wide-
reaching campaign against dissent.

Among them are two women who in 2022 received decades-long prison sentences
for social media posts critical of the government.

- 'Negative comments' -

Speaking at the Riyadh home she shares with her mother and three sisters,
Qahtani maintained she was in "negotiations" about participation in Miss
Universe but declined to provide further details.

"I have been contacted from the Miss Universe committee to represent Saudi
Arabia. Negotiations started but it was during the month of Ramadan and I
wasn't able to respond," she told AFP in her first interview since her March
Instagram post went viral.

"We are still negotiating, and hopefully it will result in a happy ending."

Maria Jose Unda, the Miss Universe official, said the procedure calls for a
national director to hold a Miss Universe Saudi Arabia pageant to choose a
delegate to send to Mexico.

"We ignore the reason why (Qahtani) announced her candidacy, but if she wants
to participate in the Saudi Arabia pageant, she will have to go through the
same selection process as every other candidate," she said.

Qahtani told AFP she had previously participated in various pageants in the
Middle East and Europe and posed with several sashes she said she obtained at
the competitions.

She described fielding a host of unexpected questions about Saudi Arabia
during her bid to take the beauty pageant world by storm, including one from
a fellow contestant in Europe who wanted to know if she kept barrels of crude
oil stored in her house.

All the while she has tried to manage the potential backlash back home,
including from more conservative Saudis who object to her clothing or her
decision to pose on Instagram last year wrapped in the Saudi flag.

"There were some negative comments about the way I dress and when I pictured
myself with the flag wearing what people considered immodest clothing," she
said.
 
She added, though, that she had no regrets.

"Many sports supporters picture themselves with the flag the same way I did,"
she said.

"In beauty pageants also, each girl carries her own country's flag, so I
didn't mean anything offensive at all."

Fawzia Ayed, Rumy's mother, told AFP that she hoped her daughter would
persevere despite the criticism.
 
"I always tell her to carry on, and that she has come a long way for a Saudi
girl. Before, (society) was closed and strict," she said.

"Rumy has encouraged a lot of girls. I see that many contact her and ask her
how she has reached this level, and that they would like also to
participate."