Next month, hopeful beauty queens from around the world will descend on the Philippines, hoping to leave with a new title — Miss Earth 2022.
Founded in 2001, Miss Earth is an annual international pageant that advocates for conservation and environmental awareness.
The pageant, which is owned by Carousels Productions, had its winner last year, author and model Destiny Wagner from Belize, crowned virtually during an online event on November 21, beating hopefuls from 79 other countries.
Each Miss Earth winner becomes the spokeswoman for the Miss Earth Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme and commits to working with the World Wildlife Fund.
As well as contributing to environmental protection programmes, the Miss Earth competition also aims to showcase various tourist destinations, while participants “compete on beauty and knowledge of environmental issues”.
Entrants must be single, childless women between the ages of 18 and 28, measuring at least 1.6 metres (five feet, four inches) in height and possess “beauty of face and proportionate body structure”.
From Palestine to Lebanon, here are the Miss Earth 2022 contestants to look out for.
Palestine
Nadeen Ayoub was named Miss Palestine 2022 in June and will make history as the first person to represent Palestine in the Miss Earth contest later this year. Ayoub is a fitness and health coach and entrepreneur, and has a large social media following.
She has also worked with several humanitarian organisations and, in particular, is working towards raising awareness for environmental issues in Palestine.
“I am very happy to announce that I have been chosen as Miss Palestine 2022 and will represent Palestine in the Miss Earth competition as the first contestant from Palestine in the history of this competition,” she said on social media after winning the title. “My goal this year is to contribute to change in the field of environmental concern in Palestine. I am excited to start this new journey and raise the name of Palestine in the world.”
Iraq
Jihan Majid, 20, will represent Iraq in this year’s Miss Earth. The dentistry student from Wasit placed second runner-up in the recently concluded Miss Iraq 2022 pageant. She was crowned by Miss Iraq 2021 Maria Farhad.
Lebanon
Model Ayah Bajouk will be the Miss Earth candidate for Lebanon. She was crowned in July by Sawsan Elsayed, journalist and owner of the Miss Lebanon organisation. Bajouk wore a metallic dress by Lebanese designer Hanadi Abboud for her crowning.
The beauty queen has close to 90,000 followers on Instagram, although she is yet to share many details of her pageantry journey.
Tunisia
Imen Mehrzi is Miss Earth Tunisia 2022. The beauty queen is a singer, actress, engineer and television host, and has more than 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.
She was one of the first representatives to be crowned for this year’s Miss Earth contest back in February, after representing Kairouan at the national pageant.
Iran
Mahrou Ahmadi was crowned Miss Iran 2022 in September. The beauty queen, 24, will be the second Iranian representative at the Miss Earth competition, following Hima Zaker last year, who competed in the virtual edition during the pandemic.
After being crowned amid ongoing protests over women’s rights in the country, Ahmadi said: “I stand with the women of Iran. This is for us.
"I want to thank my family, all of you, and [Miss Iran] for giving me this title,” she wrote on social media. “I am now an ambassador of Iran. I will always represent you and I’ll be your voice upon the world, in every journey and endeavour.”
India
Vanshika Parmar, 19, was crowned Miss India Earth in September and will become the first candidate from the state of Himachal Pradesh to represent her country at the pageant.
Parmar, a student at Miranda House, University of Delhi, said she was “brimming with gratitude” after winning.
“My dearest Divine Family, I have run out of words to express my gratitude towards you for your futuristic foresightedness,” she wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for sharing me into what I am today- from a passionate 18-year-old girl to an ambitious, iron-willed and purposeful 19-year-old young woman.”
Philippines
Representing the host nation is Jenny Ramp, who was crowned Miss Earth Philippines in March. The Filipina student is from Santa Ignacia, Tarlac, and is currently studying for a bachelor's degree in psychology at Holy Angel University in Angeles City, Pampanga.
She described being crowned as her “biggest honour”.
“I’ve always dreamed of being a part of something big. And now my heart is filled with bliss and abundance knowing that I have fulfilled this dream. It still feels like I’m dreaming when I say that I am Jenny Ramp, your Miss Philippines Earth 2022,” she said in an Instagram post.
“I always knew that this was something close to my heart. Standing on that stage with such a timely purpose of advocating about important environmental causes, I knew I wanted my voice to be heard: to not only be a spokesperson of today, but for the future generations to come."
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