Beauty pageant winners call for young girls’ role to improve Pakistan's soft image

Beauty pageant winners Dr Kapotaqkhy Chanchala and Areej Choudhry Friday urged talented young girls of Pakistan to enter such contests and help improve the the country's soft image across the world.

The two beauty queens, during a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, explained the application procedure, selection system and rules and regulations to take part in these competitions.

Dr Chanchala, who is the reigning Miss Pakistan Universal 2023, recently took the media by storm by taking the crown of the pageant, while Choudhry — who came all the way from Islamabad — is also the winner of a beauty contest and a celebrity.

During the interactive session, both beauty queens candidly shared their experiences to intrigue the young enthusiastic girls to explore new horizons.

Explaining the pageants, Dr Chanchala said that Pakistan was a part of almost all industries in the world and the pageant industry was one of these too.

"It is the platform through which our girls find the way to represent their country the world over. They get a chance to communicate with their counterparts abroad and let them know how beautiful our country and the people are," Dr Chanchala added.

They also spoke about the role of Miss Pakistan World Miss Sonia Ahmed, who is a Kuwait-born Canadian Pakistani and founder of Miss Canada Pakistan Inc, highlighting how she continued towards her cherished goal through a slow and steady process.

Dr Chanchala, also called by her friends as Dr Kapo, said that running the organisation smoothly was not an easy task and always needed financial support. She appealed to the business community to come forward to help their organisation promote Pakistan's soft image abroad.

Choudhry, who was the winner of Miss Pakistan World 2020-21, spoke about the title and how it works to represent Pakistan in a positive light. She also clarified that participating in pageants was different from modelling. "It was not about flaunting the dresses were not required. It was about representing the country worldwide," she said.

Choudhry also praised Sonia for her services to the pageant world with regard to Pakistan's representation. She said that Sonia's pageant was established in the year 2002 and run through 2019 in Canada.

"It was launched in Lahore in 2020. Since then various titles have been introduced to match international standards. Sonia now plans to bring international events to Pakistan," she shared.

She also showered praises on Dr Chanchala for her resolutely pursuing the contest and winning the beauty crown, despite being a psychiatrist.

"So, any girl, whether she is a doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, nurse, anchor, etc and even married or a transwoman can participate in it,” Choudhry opined.

During the presser, she emphasised that educated girls could better represent the country and encouraged them to partake in beauty competitions. Prior experience was not a pre-requisite for participation, she added.

Choudhry said that necessary training would be given to girls who wish to participate in a pageant. "However, girls having good English speaking skills are preferred, as it is crucial for the participants to be able to communicate and interact with people abroad."

She added that every year around 50 international pageants were held worldwide and about 10-15 strong girls were required to step up to represent Pakistan across these competitions".

Choudhry also highlighted how pageants were not just about physical beauty, but also presentation, confidence, the way one walks, and brains also. "Pageant walk is not a catwalk," she added.