Miss Pakistan World is a

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

for women of Pakistani descent from around the world. The event is held annually in Canada.

History

The pageant was originally launched in 2002 by

Sonia Ahmed Sonia Ahmed (Urdu: سونیا احمد) (born 23 August 1980) as Sonia Iqbal Ahmed, is a Kuwait-born Canadian Pakistani and founder of Miss Canada Pakistan Inc., now known as Miss Pakistan World, Mr. Pakistan World and Mrs. Pakistan World that ...

under the name of Miss Canada Pakistan. The organizers held the event in Canada due to security concerns and the general attitude towards pageants held by the Pakistani public. The pageant has taken place in Canada every year since with the exception of 2014, which was held in New Jersey.Dominus, Susan,
Pakistan May Not Be Ready for Its Beauty Queen
, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 18 December 2008, retrieved 13 January 2009 The first Miss Pakistan World to be crowned was Zehra Sheerazi on 1 February 2003. The first Miss Pakistan World to be crowned on the soil of Pakistan is the reigning titleholder of 2020, Areej Chaudhary. On 23 May 2021, Miss Pakistan World announced that it would allow trans women to compete in a separate pageant called Miss Trans Pakistan.

Shyraa Roy Shyraa Roy (Punjabi, ur, ) is a Pakistani singer, actress and producer based in Dubai. She is known for being the first ''Miss Trans Pakistan'' for 2021 and 2022 to be crowned in Pakistan. She made her debut in Pakistani cinema through vikra ...

became the first trans woman to win the Miss Trans Pakistan 2021 title.

Titleholders

Miss Pakistan World

Mrs Pakistan World

Mrs. Pakistan World is a

hosted in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

for married women of Pakistani descent. The contest was launched in 2007 with Misbah Yasin–Iqbal being the first winner. Saiyma Haroon, Mrs. Pakistan World 2012 was the first Pakistani married woman to win from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. In 2018, Usma Kashaf was sent to Lady of Brilliancy in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and won the title "Lady of Popularity" for Pakistan. In 2020, Ravish Zahid–Thomas became the first Catholic Pakistani to win Mrs. Pakistan World. In 2022 the first Mrs. Pakistan World was crowned on the soil of Pakistan. Nida Khan was the first married woman at age 26 to be crowned in Lahore, Pakistan.

Miss Trans Pakistan

On 23 May 2021, the first Miss Trans Pakistan was announced. The crowning ceremony took place in Lahore, Pakistan on 25 May 2021.

Editions

In January 2022,

began the first pageant on Pakistani soil in Lahore, Pakistan. This was initiated after the successful launch of the Miss Trans Pakistan pageant on 25 May 2021. The ceremony for the winners of Miss Pakistan, Mrs. Pakistan and Mr. Pakistan took place on 31 January 2022.

Pakistan Edition 2023

Pakistan Edition 2022

Overseas Edition

Big Four pageants representatives

The following women have represented

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in two of the

Big Four international beauty pageants The Big Four or the Big League Pageants refers to the four major international beauty pageants for women – Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth. The group was first described by the ''China Daily'' newspaper in 2004 as ...

major international

s for women.

Miss Earth Pakistan

Following are the representatives of

Miss Earth Miss Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one of t ...

pageant.

Representatives to minor international pageants

The following women have represented

in many minor international

s for women.

Miss Supranational Pakistan

Following are the representatives of

Miss Supranational Miss Supranational is an annual international female beauty pageant, started in 2009, and with most contests held in Poland and a parallel male contest, Mister Supranational, began in 2016, also in Poland. The current owners of Miss and Mister ...

pageant.

Miss Grand International Pakistan

Following are the representatives of

at Miss Grand International pageant.

Miss Asia Pacific International Pakistan

Following are the representatives of

Miss Asia Pacific International Miss Asia Pacific International is one of the oldest international beauty pageant based in Manila, Philippines. A woman who can be confident and proud of her unique traits as well as appreciate and value those of others, can help pave way to a b ...

pageant.

Controversies

The pageant has been criticized by Pakistani feminist

Amna Buttar Amna Buttar (born 1962) is a Pakistani American medical doctor and former member of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, Pakistan. She is currently working as clinical associate professor of medicine and geriatrics at the NYU Langone Health. Bi ...

of the

Asian-American Network Against Abuse of Human Rights The Asian-American Network Against Abuse of Human Rights (ANAA) is a volunteer-run organization with the purpose of increasing awareness about gender apartheid and gendercide that is occurring in Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the ...

, who wrote in an email to the

, "In Pakistan, we are trying to get basic rights for women: right to marry, right to divorce, equal opportunity for job and education, and issues like Miss Pakistan create problems for this movement. An average Pakistani young woman does not want to wear a

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

in public, and for her it is important to have equal opportunity and all focus should be on that, and not on a pageant where only the elite can participate."

, the president of Miss Pakistan World, defended the event as a movement for self-expression, saying that the participants have the freedom to do as they wish. In 2006, Culture Ministry official Abdul Hafeez Chaudhry questioned the wearing of bikinis to represent Pakistan. In 2010 the organizers were criticized for holding the pageant in

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

and during the

2010 Pakistan floods The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's tot ...

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

The flood in Pakistan will not stop the pageant in Toronto
19 August 2010Alia Waheed,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

,
Miss Pakistan World pageant's timing causes dismay: Demands for Toronto beauty contest to be called off in light of humanitarian crisis brought by flooding in Pakistan
, 19 August 2010 18.16 BST

References

External links

Miss Pakistan World
website
Mrs Pakistan World

Miss Trans Pakistan
website {{Authority control Pakistani awards Women in Pakistan

* Beauty pageants in Pakistan Beauty pageants for people of specific ethnic or national descents

History

Titleholders

Miss Pakistan World

Mrs Pakistan World

Miss Trans Pakistan

Editions

Pakistan Edition 2023

Pakistan Edition 2022

Overseas Edition

Big Four pageants representatives

Miss Earth Pakistan

Representatives to minor international pageants

Miss Supranational Pakistan

Miss Grand International Pakistan

Miss Asia Pacific International Pakistan

Controversies

See also

References

External links