Abaya-clad vie for moral beauty crown

More than 400 Saudi women clad in traditional abayas will line up next month in a beauty contest with no swimsuit round, to be named Queen of Beautiful Morals. The contest, now in its third year, will be staged in the Kindgdom's Eastern region.?The winner will be awarded SR5,000 (Dh4,897) worth?jewellery and a free trip abroad, Saudi newspapers reported. "More than 400 women will take part in this year's contest and seven of them will be shortlisted. Three finalists will be picked, including the queen and her attendants," Khadra Al Mubarak, the event's organiser, was quoted as saying by Saudi Arabic language dailies.

Covered from head to toe, contestants must work at old age homes and other care centres in elimination rounds. "This contest is intended to promote virtue and human values," he said.