Shaymaa Abdelrahman is a beauty queen, but her beauty and crown is not the only reason Iraq is celebrating.
She is the first Miss Iraq in four decades and this has left all feeling a small victory had been won.
Iraqi Shaymaa Qasim from Kirkuk after winning the Miss Iraq beauty contest on December 19, 2015 in the capital Baghdad. AFP
"Some people out there think we don't love life," said Humam al-Obeidi, one of the organisers, as the crowd spilled out of the Baghdad hotel ballroom where the pageant was held.
The jury chose Shaymaa Abdelrahman, a tall, green-eyed 20-year-old from Iraq's multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk.
Iraqi Shaymaa Qasim happily waves after winning the Miss Iraq beauty contest on December 19, 2015 in the capital Baghdad.
AFP
The decision was popular with those in attendance, especially in the back rows, where young men with hispter beards and tight blazers had been standing on their chairs shouting her name.
"I'm very happy to see Iraq going forward," the new beauty queen told AFP as she tried to fend off a scrum of admirers hoping to clinch a selfie.
"This event was huge and put a smile on the faces of the Iraqis."
Recently, in an interview to India's
Times Of India Shaymaa talked how this contest gives Iraq a sense of normalcy.
She said how, "...international media used to show images of violence and war in Iraq – this was a great chance to prove to the world that the situation in Iraq is getting better. Iraqi families are accepting a civil life."
Going forward she has plans to support education for children in IDP camps in Iraq and promote awareness of this important issue.
And surprisingly she also expressed her wish to meet Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai.
In the interview she said, "It (India) also has an excellent record in international beauty pageants and winners – one of my dreams is to visit India, meet Aishwarya Rai and ask her for secrets of success. I've read about her and love the way she manages her life."
AFP
Work in progress
In the week running up to the event, the eight finalists embarked on a string of pre-pageant activities, including the visit of a camp for displaced people in Baghdad.
Speaking to AFP during a tree-planting ceremony near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon on Thursday, Suzan Amer, a 22-year-old from the Kurdish town of Sulaimaniyah argued that a beauty pageant was more than a mere distraction in Iraq.
"It's my first time doing anything like this but it's an experience I wanted to be part of. I think Iraq needs events like these," said the young woman with ash blonde hair, bright fuscia lipstick and a rosebud tucked above her ear.
AFP
Iraq is wracked by an ongoing war against Daesh, the world's most brutal terrorist organisation, and plagued by deep sectarian tensions and corruption.
But the pageant, which culminated with the jury announcing the winner as Beethoven's Ode to Joy filled the ballroom, left participants, organisers and guests feeling that beating the gloom was part of the war effort.
"I think it is wonderful; it makes you feel things can come back to normal," said veteran human rights activist Hana Edwar.
The last time the Miss Iraq competition was held was in 1972, when the oil-rich country was on an upward track.
AFP
Old footage of the contest available on the Internet shows Wijdan Burhan al-Din Suleimank, at a venue in Puerto Rico, introducing herself at the microphone, between India and Ireland in the speaking order.
"We look forward to having a good ambassador for Iraq," said Senan Kamel, the 2015 pageant's artistic director, who also organised Iraq's first fashion show in years last March.
"What we're hoping to accomplish is to make Iraq's voice heard, show that it is still alive, that its heart is still beating," he said.
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