Miss Egypt Bent Masr beauty pageant announced a change in their admission rules, allowing married, divorced, and veiled women to take part in this year’s prestigious beauty contest.
The pageant’s new rules follow the footsteps of Miss Universe International, who made the same announcement last year.
Before the rule change, only women between the ages of 20 and 29 who had never been married and had no children were allowed to compete in the Miss Egypt Pageant. However, the age bracket will remain the same, according to the “Ahram Online” website.
“I honestly love that this is happening. Just like society changes and women are now occupying leadership positions where in the past only men could,” said Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza, in an interview with the insider. “It is about time pageants changed and opened up to women with families,” she added.
Miss Egypt Bent Masr was founded in 2016 as a natural extension of the Miss Egypt contest, held in Egypt since 1927. “We aim to reinvent pageantry for the new age and to catapult our competitions into the mainstream audience by showing people the confidence and power that pageantry can give to young women,” said Dr. Amaal Rezk, president of Miss Egypt.
Miss Egypt creates a space in which young women can access training and learn life skills to enhance their physical beauty while also nurturing their internal persona. “Our new vision of pageantry will open doors, inspire opportunities and create a platform for women to amplify their new-found voice,” said Rezk.
