First Miss Iraq 2015 Crowned Since 1972, ISIS Gives Death Threats

The 20-year-old student was recently crowned Miss Iraq, becoming the first to receive the honor since 1972.

The attractive Shayma, who is studying Economics at the University of Kirkuk proclaimed that she entered the pageant for her support in women’s rights and that she is not perturbed at people who are threatening her. Two contestants dropped out of the competition after receiving death threats.

“I want to prove that the Iraqi woman has her own existence in society, she has her rights like men”, Shaima Qassem Abdulrahman told NBC News.

“It’s my first time doing anything like this but it’s an experience I wanted to be part of”.

Pageant organizers said there was an overflow crowd for the pageant, extending outside the Baghdad hotel ballroom where it was held. They maintained it was important to put on the event in the face of the violence happening in their country.

In conservative Iraq, the public display of women’s bodies is frowned upon, so there was no swimsuit portion in the Miss Iraq pageant. After being crowned, she said: “I call all Iraqi girls to feel this experience”. Death threats were posted on the pageant’s Facebook page, and at least some contestants were reported to have pulled out.

“Iraq needed this”, pageant director Ahmed Leith said.

The last Miss Iraq was Wijdan Burhan al-Deen, who won in 1972, who went on to represent Iraq in the Miss Universe contest later that year. Shaima stressed that her goal as a beauty queen is “reflect the culture of Iraq”, as she feels the monumental 2015 Miss Iraq competition was “not about beauty alone”. However, Islamic headscarves were banned from the event, in order to remain in keeping with Western pageant rules.