Prada Handbags Canada 411 Aogz

Why I quit Miss World

When I won the Miss Denmark title last year, I was very excited. I had never entered beauty pageants seriously Authentic Prada Bags For Sale Philippines Bicester Authentic Prada Shoes For Sale Village Prada Online before and I could not believe that I had won such a big competition. Then, when I found out in spring 2002 that I would be taking part in the related site Miss World pageant, I could hardly sleep because I was so happy. My friends and family were so proud of me and this would be the first time anybody from my country would be going to the final of this international competition.

At the time, I knew that it would be staged in Nigeria, but I was OK with that because, I thought, there weren’t any problems there. I wasn’t very politically aware then, to be honest.

But in September I was told about the case of Amina Lawal and that she would be stoned to death in Nigeria simply for having sex outside of marriage. I just couldn’t believe it. How can this kind of thing happen in 2002? What kind of country would do such a terrible thing?

The first thing I did was phone up a Danish representative at the European parliament. To drop out of the Miss World pageant would be a huge decision, so I needed to have all the facts about Are Prada Handbags Cheaper In Italy the case, and confirmation as to whether it was true or not before deciding what to do next. The representative at the parliament promised that she would look into the matter carefully for me. She called me back very quickly: it was true, Lawal had been sentenced to death.

I knew I had to make a choice. It was hard: I had high hopes for what the Miss World competition would bring me. I didn’t expect to win, but I thought I might get a modelling contract out of it. I live on a small island and I have always wanted to move to a big city such as Copenhagen. I thought the competition could help me with that.

Even though I was not very politically aware about Nigeria at the time, I have always had an interest in world events. I would describe myself as leftwing and I Authentic Prada Milano Handbags am a big supporter of the European parliament. I knew I could no longer take part in the competition if this atrocity was going to happen. You cannot have a show celebrating beautiful women in a country that is stoning a woman to death.

I didn’t drop out immediately. I waited for a few days to see if all the other contestants would, as I hoped, drop out too. That way we would be sending a really strong political All Prada Nylon Bags message. But when I saw that they wouldn’t, I quit the competition anyway. Most are still going, which I think is very, very sad. I would have liked to organise a full-scale rebellion, but the other contestants weren’t interested. Now, I just feel sorry for them. I think it is shocking that they are not taking a stand.

This is not a feminist issue. In fact, I wouldn’t call myself Are Prada Nylon Bags Worth The Money a feminist at all. I don’t object to the way beauty pageants put women on stage and make them wear bathing suits. That doesn’t bother me, as long as the bathing suits are not too revealing. So in the case of Lawal, it is not that she is a woman that so affected me, but that she is a poor, oppressed person who is being treated Best Prada Outlet In Milan dreadfully.

I immediately told Danish American Production [who were organising Ms Juel’s participation in Miss World] that I would be dropping out, but they did not inform the Miss World organisers for a couple of weeks. I guess they were hoping that I would change my mind, but that would never be. The Miss World organisers Black Prada Eyeglass Case were not very happy when they were told I would no longer be taking part. This competition represents a lot of money to them, and now I know that beauty pageants care more about money than they do about women.

I did enjoy taking part in the Miss Denmark competition, but I am no longer interested in beauty pageants. Now, I am concentrating more on politics. I am organising Authentic Prada Clutch a petition with the European parliament to free Lawal, and am becoming much more active in similar issues. I am not even going to watch the competition on television. It just doesn’t interest me.

So now I am back doing my former job, working as a hairdressing student in a small Danish town. But it doesn’t feel like a let down after all the glitz of the beauty pageant world. I enjoy my work and I am happy. I know I made the right choice.