Is Egypt's parliament going after beauty queens?
Egyptian lawmakers have called for the banning of the Miss Egypt Pageant until a law can be issued to provide government oversight for beauty contests.
CAIRO — Miss Egypt 2017 was crowned Oct. 2 amid wide controversy over the legality of the contest being held without government supervision and accusations of indecency that spread in the media.
Solaf Darwish, a member of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, said that leaked videos and pictures of the beauty contestants taken by cameras installed in the rooms showed the immoral behavior of contestants, which goes against the customs of Egyptian society. Darwish also revealed that one of the contestants, whom she did not name, withdrew from the pageant after she was allegedly subject to abuses.
This comes after one Miss Egypt contestant withdrew and showered the pageant’s organizers with all sorts of accusations. Consequently, two members of the judging panel backed out.
The pageant risks being banned after Darwish, who belongs to the Support Egypt coalition, the largest in parliament, issued an urgent parliamentary statement calling for the banning of the Miss Egypt Pageant, claiming it threatens Egyptian national security. Darwish said the ban would remain in place until the parliament completes the drafting of a law regulating such contests in Egypt under government supervision.
