Vida Samadzai

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vida Samadzai (born 1980) is Miss Afghanistan 2003. The first Afghan woman to participate in an international beauty pageant since 1974, her appearance in a red bikini in the 2003 Miss Earth pageant created controversy in her native country.

Born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan, of Tajik ethnicity;although her last name ends with the typically Pashtun affix of "zai" meaning "son of..", many Tajiks in Afghanistan also adopted this practice. Samadzai moved to the USA in 1996. A student at California State University, Fullerton, Samadzai said her participation in the contest sent out a powerful message to her fellow countrywomen. Samadzai is also not just a very beautiful face; she helped to found a US-based Afghan women's charity which raises awareness of women's rights and education in the troubled country.

Only the second Miss Afghanistan to take part in a beauty contest (since Zohra Daoud was crowned Miss Afghanistan in 1974), her participation in the Miss Earth beauty pageant in 2003 was condemned by the Afghan Supreme Court, saying such a display of the female body goes against Islamic law and Afghan culture. Particularly objected to by traditionalist Afghans was her appearance in a revealing red bikini during the pageant's press presentation. She was given a special "beauty for a cause" award at that years Miss Earth competition.

Her participation in the beauty contest can be considered to be a sharp contrast to the beliefs of the former Taliban regime, which demanded that women wear coverings, or burqas, from head to toe whenever they went out in public.

The following year, Samadzai returned to the Philippines. She was among the 11 jurors who helped choose Priscilla Meirelles as Miss Earth 2004; On coronation night, the young women’s rights activist wore a gown, saying: “I don’t know if they’ll have a problem this time because I’m not showing any skin or wearing a swimsuit”.

[edit] Quotes

"I would like to make people aware that, as Afghan women, we are talented, intelligent and beautiful."

"Now, women can go to school, go to work, they're free. They don't have to wear those long burqas anymore."

"If I offended some people, some women in Afghanistan, I apologize. I represent myself. Afghan women should be allowed to do anything they want. Their rights shouldn’t be suppressed. They should speak their mind, to be whatever they want to be."

[edit] External links

www.VidaSamadzai.com - personal website
Lifeofamodel.com - read Vida's latest interview on her life with death threats, and her upcoming Bollywood career