Anica Jamal Iqbal has won this year’s Miss World Pakistan title. She will now compete at the Miss World pageant for Pakistan, making history for the country. For the first time in nearly 74 years, Pakistan is set to take part in the Miss World contest, with the 24-year-old Anica Jamal Iqbal competing for the country.
This is not Anica’s first beauty pageant. The 24-year-old has taken part in contests such as Miss Earth, Miss Global, Miss Cosmo, Miss Eco International and Miss Aura International, and won four titles at the “Freedom of the World” contest held under Cosmo. Her studies are not yet complete; she is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in accounting and auditing at Danis University in Pakistan.
Anica is also drawn to social work. She runs a project called “Beauty with Purpose,” whose main aim is to help all of Pakistan’s thalassaemia patients. Alongside her own project, she works actively with various social-work organisations in Pakistan and volunteers at several charities in Lahore, usually working with patients suffering long-term illnesses.
After Anica won the Miss World Pakistan title, the Miss Pakistan World Organisation issued a statement calling her participation at Miss World a milestone for the organisation — the first time in 25 years that one of its members will set foot on the Miss World stage, while history shows Pakistan has not touched the Miss World stage in 74 years. The organisation’s head, Sonia Ahmed, called it a “historic moment” for Pakistan and a very good opportunity to present the country’s talent to the world.
The Miss World stage is different from other pageants: alongside outward beauty, it assesses understanding, public-speaking ability and more. But Anica is not worried about that. From childhood she knew that choosing modelling as a profession and moving forward in an Islamic country like Pakistan is not easy, and that many could stand as obstacles — but she is not concerned. She is now focused on presenting herself at the Miss World contest to be held in Vietnam. For Anica, the Miss World stage is not just a beauty-pageant platform; her main goal is to use it to gather support for her country’s thalassaemia patients so she can push her project forward more firmly. Anica’s parents and family are delighted at her success and have always stood by her wish to become a successful model, never pressuring her to act against her wishes.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report