Cambodian authorities have cancelled the live version of the nation’s second annual beauty pageant for landmine survivors, saying the contest would damage the “dignity and honor” of contestants.
Morten Traavik, the Norwegian organizer of Miss Landmine 2009, said that the contest would continue on the Internet through its website. The site, which features glamorous photos and short profiles of the contestants, Cambodian women ages 18-48 who have survived amputation after a landmine explosion, quotes the following elements as the contest’s mission:
- Female pride and empowerment.
- Disabled pride and empowerment.
- Global and local landmine awareness and information.
- Challenge inferiority and/or guilt complexes that hinder creativity-historical, cultural, social, personal, Asian, European.
- Question established concepts of physical perfection.
- Challenge old and ingrown concepts of cultural cooperation.
- Celebrate true beauty.
- Replace the passive term ‘victim’ with the active term ‘survivor.’
- And have a good time for all involved while doing so!
Critics counter with a number of arguments, including that beauty contests in general are degrading to women, that the competition would “use sex to exploit the issue,” and that the contest would be essentially a freak show. BBC News quoted Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Khanarith as saying that the competition would “make a mockery of Cambodia’s landmine victims.”
The twenty contestants will be competing for the Miss Landmine Cambodia title and for a high-quality prosthesis. Results for the contest will be announced on Thursday, December 31.
