Bikini Ban Hits Miss World Contest
The winner of the Miss World pageant this year will be chosen because of her beauty, her grace, and her talent. And not her bikini. Yep, there will be a bikini ban at the annual beauty pageant this year.
According to Fox News, the pageant, which will be held in India this year, was protested by a conservative Muslim group who didn’t want to see women in bikinis prancing around on stage. The group argued that the pageant should replace the skimp swimsuits with Bali’s traditional long sarongs. The Miss World pageant agreed.
Chairwoman of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley, said that the pageant wasn’t looking at the decision as a bikini ban. Instead, the organization said that it was embracing the culture and being respectful to the people of India.
Morley said: “Indonesia is designing for us a very beautiful one-piece beachwear, and I’m very happy with them … I don’t think Indonesia is the only country that has (a conservative) culture … But we like to work in the manner respectful to every country, and I cannot see why when you go to somebody’s country you should not behave respectfully.”
The bikini ban at the Miss World pageant may have pleased some protestors but other conservative groups are still planning to protest the pageant.
Clerics of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, said that they wanted to pageant cancelled. Mukri Aji, a prominent cleric from West Java province’s MUI branch, said: “That contest is just an excuse to show women’s body parts that should remain covered … It’s against Islamic teachings.”
What do you think of the bikini ban?
