Is Pakistan disowning its first ever Miss Universe contestant? Here’s why Erica Robin is facing backlash

Chosen as Miss Universe Pakistan from among five finalists at the inaugural competition held in the Maldives, Erica Robin from Karachi is gearing up for Miss Universe finals which will be held in El Salvador in November this year to mark a historic moment, as it is the first time in the 72-year history of the Miss Universe beauty pageant that Pakistan has chosen a representative. When asked to name one thing she wanted to do for her country, Erica had replied, “I would want to change this mindset that Pakistan is a backward country.”

While models, writers and journalists including journalist Mariana Babar congratulated Erica as “beauty and brains” on Twitter, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami party called it “shameful” and caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar ordered the country’s intelligence agency to investigate the organisers of the Miss Universe Pakistan pageant and how they were able to hold the competition seemingly in the country’s name without the government’s approval. This came after a scathing online chatter and critics asserting that Erica is representing a country that does not want to be represented while Kakar called the staging of the Maldives pageant a “shameful act” and an “insult and exploitation of women of Pakistan”.

Taqi Usmani, an Islamic scholar from Pakistan, tweeted, “There is news that five young ladies will represent Pakistan in the international beauty pageant. If this is true, how far will we go? Let the impression disappear (sic).” A tweet by Ansar Abbasi, a Pakistani right-wing commentator and columnist, read, “Who allowed five Pakistani girls to represent Pakistan in Miss Universe beauty pageant? Prime Minister Kakar @anwaar_kakar, this decision of the cabinet or a ministerial advisor? Can anyone represent Pakistan without the permission of the Government of Pakistan? (sic)” to which former journalist and present Federal Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Murtaza Solangi replied, “The government and the state of Pakistan are represented by the state and government institutions. Our government has not designated any non-state and non-governmental person or institution for any such activity and no such person/institution can represent the state/government. the end. (sic)”.

Beauty pageants are rare in Muslim-majority Pakistan and Erica shared in an interview with BBC, “It feels great to represent Pakistan. But I don’t understand where the backlash is coming from. I think it is this idea that I would be parading in a swimsuit in a room full of men.” A graduate of St Patrick’s High School and Government College of Commerce and Economics, Erica started her professional modelling career in January 2020 and her pictures found their way into several magazines including Diva Magazine Pakistan.

She insisted that she has done nothing wrong and said, “I’m not breaking any law by representing Pakistan on a global platform. I am doing my bit to quell any stereotypes about it.” In an interview with Voice of America, she had added, “I won’t do anything that would harm the reputation of the country.”

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