Organizers announced this week that Saudi Arabia might send its first Miss Universe contestant this year, following the claims of a fashion model and influencer that she had been chosen.
Maria Jose Unda, the organization’s coordinator of international relations, told AFP that the Miss Universe Organization “is currently undergoing a rigorous vetting process qualifying a potential candidate to be awarded the Saudi Arabia franchise.”
“We’ll have a decision on the National Director for Saudi Arabia very, very soon,” she said, noting it was “possible” for Saudi Arabia to have a contestant in place before the next edition of the competition, scheduled for September in Mexico.
The announcement followed after Saudi model Rumy al-Qahtani, who has hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, made waves online in late March by posting on the platform that she was “honoured” to represent Saudi Arabia at Miss Universe.
The post featured images of Qahtani, a 27-year-old Riyadh native, holding the green Saudi flag with the Islamic creed, or shahada, inscribed on it while wearing a sequined dress.
A statement from Miss Universe was released less than a week later, denouncing Qahtani’s post as “false and misleading” and stating that no selection procedure had taken place in the Gulf state.
Fielding a Miss Universe candidate, if it happens, would mark another step in Saudi Arabia’s effort to soften its ultra-conservative image as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, tries to lure tourists and investors.
Saudi Arabia, the largest exporter of crude oil worldwide, has a long history of being linked to the oppression of women due to laws that once required women to wear abaya robes and were prohibited from driving.
Human rights advocates claim that even though those limitations have been removed, a personal status law that went into effect in 2022 still discriminates against women in areas related to marriage, divorce, and raising children.
In addition, a broad campaign against dissent has rounded up women, including well-known activists.
Among them are two women who were sentenced to decades in prison in 2022 for posting critical comments about the government on social media.
Speaking at the Riyadh home she shares with her mother and three sisters, Qahtani maintained she was in “negotiations” about participation in Miss Universe but declined to provide further details.
“I have been contacted from the Miss Universe committee to represent Saudi Arabia. Negotiations started but it was during the month of Ramadan and I wasn’t able to respond,” she told AFP in her first interview since her March Instagram post went viral.
“We are still negotiating, and hopefully it will result in a happy ending.”
Maria Jose Unda, the Miss Universe official, said the procedure calls for a national director to hold a Miss Universe Saudi Arabia pageant to choose a delegate to send to Mexico.
“We ignore the reason why (Qahtani) announced her candidacy, but if she wants to participate in the Saudi Arabia pageant, she will have to go through the same selection process as every other candidate,” she said.
Qahtani told AFP she had previously participated in various pageants in the Middle East and Europe and posed with several sashes she said she obtained at the competitions.
She described fielding a host of unexpected questions about Saudi Arabia during her bid to take the beauty pageant world by storm, including one from a fellow contestant in Europe who wanted to know if she kept barrels of crude oil stored in her house.
All the while she has tried to manage the potential backlash back home, including from more conservative Saudis who object to her clothing or her decision to pose on Instagram last year wrapped in the Saudi flag.
“There were some negative comments about the way I dress and when I pictured myself with the flag wearing what people considered immodest clothing,” she said.
She added, though, that she had no regrets.
“Many sports supporters picture themselves with the flag the same way I did,” she said.
“In beauty pageants also, each girl carries her own country’s flag, so I didn’t mean anything offensive at all.”
Fawzia Ayed, Rumy’s mother, told AFP that she hoped her daughter would persevere despite the criticism.
“I always tell her to carry on, and that she has come a long way for a Saudi girl. Before, (society) was closed and strict,” she said.
“Rumy has encouraged a lot of girls. I see that many contact her and ask her how she has reached this level, and that they would like also to participate.”
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