Saudi Arabia may have its first Miss Universe contender this year, organisers announced this week, after a fashion model and influencer claimed to have been chosen.
The Miss Universe Organisation “is currently undergoing a rigorous vetting process to qualify a potential candidate to be awarded the Saudi Arabia franchise,” Maria Jose Unda, the organization’s coordinator of international relations, told AFP.
“We’ll make a decision on the National Director for Saudi Arabia very, very soon,” she added, adding that it was “possible” for Saudi Arabia to have a contender in place before the next edition of the competition, which will be held in Mexico in September.
The announcement came after Saudi model Rumy al-Qahtani made headlines online in late March when she told her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers that she was “honoured” to represent Saudi Arabia at the forthcoming Miss Universe event.
The post includes photos of Qahtani, a 27-year-old Riyadh resident, wearing a sequined dress and waving a green Saudi flag imprinted with the shahada, or Islamic creed.
Less than a week later, Miss Universe released a statement calling Qahtani’s article “false and misleading” and claiming no selection process had taken place in the Gulf monarchy.
If a Miss Universe contender is chosen, it will be another step in Saudi Arabia’s efforts to soften its ultra-conservative image as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler, attempts to entice visitors and investors.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, has long been linked with women’s repression due to previous laws such as a prohibition on driving and the obligation to wear abaya robes.
While those prohibitions have been repealed, human rights groups claim that personal status legislation enacted in 2022 continues to discriminate against women in marriage, divorce, and childrearing.
In addition, women, especially notable activists, have been targeted in a broad anti-dissent campaign.
Among them are two women who, in 2022, will serve decades in jail for critical social media statements about the administration.
