Miss Pakistan World’s Seventh Year

Miss Pakistan World’s Seventh Year

Toronto, Canada - Miss Pakistan World 2009 took place in Mississauga on the 27th of June 2009. With contestants coming from Scotland, United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada, the 10 day pageant went well with the hustle and bustle of restaurants, photo sessions, video sessions, rehearsals and essay writing competitions.

The winners of the pageants were Ayesha Gilani from Washington DC, representing Lahore, Pakistan. The Runner up 1 is Yusra Mumtaz from Sugarland Texas, representing Karachi, Pakistan and Uzma Ali as Runner up 2 from Scotland representing Faisalabad, Pakistan.

The contestants went through a series of essay writing on Pakistani issues during the pageant, as well as singing the National Anthem of Pakistan, which were the prerequisites before entering the pageant. The contestants also learnt about the Founder of Pakistan- Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Monuments of Pakistan, the 4 Provinces of Pakistan, and the Kalash People of Pakistan.

An intense seminar of 8 hours was headed by image consultant and educational speaker Nyla Hasan which included self improvement, self confidence, dealing with the issues of the community and self improvement. The contestants had an amazing experience in Mississauga’s restaurants: Avani, Mandarin, The Host, Asian Garden, and many more.
Pageant Coordinator, Rania Iqbal and Pageant Choreographer Rodney Diverlus made sure the girls were well organized and the contestants were prepared for three dance number for the audience. The pageant started with the Black Evening Gown Opening Number on Pakistani singer Haroon’s Aashiqa and went on to the Pakistani Traditional Wear Round and finally the funky dance number on Ali Zafar’s Dekha Jo for the final evening gown dance! The stage lit up with the dance group called Adje, who performed on Pakistani songs by Faakhir, Jiya Na Jaye and Haroon’s Nahin Hai yeh Pyar. The final touch was by the Pakistani duo Asad Khan and Shoaib Khan, whose rising group Qissmet from Chicago made its first appearance in Toronto, Canada. Within a matter of minutes the crowd was singing Dil Dil Pakistan with Qissmet and enjoying the amazingly Pakistani atmosphere.

Former Miss Pakistan World 2004, Batool Cheema and Miss Pakistan World 2008 Natasha Paracha as well as the newly crowned Mrs. Pakistan World 2009 Sana Mushtaq were there to crown the runner ups and winner. The pageant ended well, with Ayesha Gilani winning the 7th title for Miss Pakistan World and who will now go on to represent Pakistan in international pageants.

Sonia Ahmed, the President of Miss Pakistan World and Mrs. Pakistan World carried on the pageant for 7 years and has sent the winners and runner ups to compete internationally in 21 beauty pageants around the world. An industry that never existed for Pakistan became alive in 2002 when the first Miss Pakistan pageant was announced. Pakistan’s entertainment industry has now seen 7 years of pageantry and Ahmed is hopeful that this industry picks up the support structure from around the world to make Pakistan the number one country in beauty pageants.

I was born ready’ - Khaleej Times

Miss Pakistan World Ayesha Gilani, who represented her country at the Miss Tourism Queen International pageant in

Zengzhou, China last month, shares her views on the modern Pakistani woman’s right to enter such shows.

UNTIL AUGUST 2010, when she has to pass on her crown, Ayesha Gilani will be known as Miss Pakistan to all who meet her. The 27-year-old English student from Washington DC, whose parents hail from Lahore, won over the judges with her charm, wit and classic good looks. Always courting a bit of controversy, the Miss Pakistan World pageant makes headlines every year as clashes between traditional culture and values and modern ways of thinking surface to the extent that the show, now in its seventh year, can’t be held in Pakistan. Ayesha and the other contestants take such trivialities in their stride, however, and shun any criticism in order to portray the modern Pakistani woman.

Winning Miss Pakistan World was just the beginning of great things to come for Ayesha and was followed with a journey to China to represent Pakistan at the Miss Tourism Queen International finals. Coming away with the Miss Elegant Second Runner Up award at the final ceremony of the month-long event on August 28 Ayesha immediately took the time to speak with us on her way back to America.

How did it feel to take home the Miss Pakistan World crown?
It has changed my life. The moment the first runner up was called, instantly making me the new Miss Pakistan World 2009, it was a surprise because I didn’t expect to be the winner. The competition was difficult; every girl there deserved to win in her own way. This made me all the more proud to win. I feel honoured to be recognised as an ambassador to Pakistan. It’s always been my wish to show the world what Pakistan and Pakistani women are all about. What more could a girl want?

How did you find the Miss Tourism Queen International pageant?
This was my first chance to represent my great nation on a global scale, and I was born ready. During this past month, I have travelled through China, to large cities and small towns, experiencing the rich, deep-rooted cultures first hand. Each city left me with a different experience I will always cherish. Everyone in China knows Pakistan as “China’s friend;” I was so ecstatic! It was a month full of activities and competitions showcasing not only to each other, but to the world, different facets of our respective countries, ending with a spectacular grand finale show in Shanghai. I have had the opportunity to meet beautiful girls representing over 100 countries worldwide, and have developed everlasting friendships; friendship has no language. I feel proud to bring into the limelight the lighter side of Pakistan, apart from what’s displayed in the media due to a few rotten apples. It’s unfortunate the world has absolutely no clue what Pakistan is all about, what rich treasures it holds and what contributions it has to offer to the world. However, I am here to change that, along with Sonia Ahmed and the Miss Pakistan World pageant, and its supporters, and anyone else who has the guts to go against the grain.

Talk us through your experience of winning Miss Pakistan World.
It was a difficult, yet rewarding experience. For ten days, these brave women, the finalists of Miss Pakistan World, pushed themselves beyond their physical and mental limits. After preparing for six months before convening in Canada for the finals, there was essay writing, pop quizzes, choreography practices, working out, intense photo shoots, little time to eat and sleep, all the while reflecting a positive attitude though a smile and picture-perfect looks. On the day of the pageant, while doing my makeup, I came down with a fever. My head started spinning, my voice started to change due to congestion, I was sneezing up a storm, and my eyelids became heavy with exhaustion. I scolded myself; “Not today!” I popped two Advils, a sinus reliever, and an energy drink, and focused on my goal. A few hours later, I was wearing the crown on my head as Miss Pakistan World 2009. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are right.” This is a life lesson I hope to share with the Pakistani women of the world. Every contestant had her own strengths; in my case, my go-getter attitude set me apart, along with my wishes for Pakistan to be recognised on a global level.

Why did you enter Miss Pakistan World?
Ever since I was a little girl, people have always told me I don’t look Pakistani, and I don’t act Pakistani. How does one “act” Pakistani? Apparently, people expect Pakistani women to be quiet, shy and oppressed. Au contraire! I have always been a confident, outspoken female standing up for her beliefs. Pakistani women do look like me and they do act like me, I thought. And now is my chance to educate the world on exactly how driven and headstrong we are. As a child, my role model was my older sister. She spoke up for herself always; she was beautiful; she was highly intellectual. She was the complete package. I have two young nieces now who I only hope to be a role model for. There are millions of young Pakistani girls worldwide who need the same guidance. I can only hope to be just that. In search of the golden opportunity, my parents relocated from Lahore to Miami, Florida, in the United States in 1971. Working his way up from attending college full time along with two jobs, to a Vice President on Wall Street in the financial district of New York, my father set an example early on to his children about the importance of hard work, diligence, and persistence in this life. That important life lesson played a role in my own motivations in life.

The bikini section is what has courted the most controversy. Are you personally comfortable with it?
The pageant queen is one who is supposed to represent the epitome of beauty, inside and out. Naturally, the first feature one notices on another individual is the exterior. In beauty pageants, a contestant is required to be physically appealing as well as intellectual. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating the beauty of a woman; it is a God-given gift. I appeal yet again to the masses to remember that our existence is based on the concepts of acceptance and therefore harmony. If the human race were to understand and implement this thought process, can you imagine how many of the world’s problems would cease to exist? Yes, it’s a big dream for a little girl, but change has to begin somewhere. The handful of us who dare to fight this battle are just the beginning of a wave of positive change.

How did your family react when you won?
My immediate family has always been my backbone and has supported me in everything that I have done. They claimed they knew I would win, as I’m sure every mother thinks of her daughter, and were ecstatic when I did. It’s funny, but for some time they went around introducing me as Miss Pakistan World everywhere we went. Everyone should be blessed with as loving and supportive a family as I am privileged to possess.

What do you want to be in future?

I would love to use this platform of recognition to help the less fortunate. Pakistan has many causes that need support, such as aiding the victims displaced in Swat Valley, and for children suffering from disabilities such as Down’s syndrome. I enjoy speaking to the public about being a Pakistani young woman today, and hope my words are heard by Pakistani girls growing up, looking for a role model.

I will continue my presence in the fashion industry as a makeup artist, beauty specialist, beauty columnist and model. Representing the Pakistani presence in the Western fashion industry is a particular focus of mine, as I plan to participate in Washington, D.C. Fashion Week, and work with extremely talented up-and-coming Pakistani designers. I hope to open an establishment promoting beauty inside and out in the near future. Finally, I would love to dabble in acting, as well, given the opportunity.

Ayesha Gilani - Miss Pakistan Earth 2009

Ayesha Gilani - Miss Pakistan Earth 2009

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Ayesha Gilani - Miss Pakistan Earth 2009

Ayesha Gilani - Miss Pakistan Earth 2009

Miss Pakistan World - Fighting Who?

Miss Pakistan World - Fighting Who? Amidst the political turmoil happening in Pakistan these days, a set of optimistic Pakistani women have set forward to improving the image of their country - Pakistan. Ayesha Gilani, the current Miss Pakistan World 2009, made trips to China and Philippines to spread the good name of Pakistan. The country that has a beauty pageant set out of its own land, may from time to time acknowledge the fact that bikini adorned Pakistani girls are now part of a reality that most media critics and religious fanatics just shrug off, but nevertheless, just in the year 2009 reports of five international pageants proved successful. One must wonder how beauty pageants change the image of Pakistanis worldwide, well for that Batool Cheema former Miss Pakistan World from the year 2004 declared, that just going to different countries and wearing the Pakistan sash brings a lot of attention. She also stated that people stopped her on the streets during public appearances and said that they could not believe Pakistan can be active in something like a beauty pageant.Coming back from Beijing, China and Berlin, Germany, Cheema is more than optimistic about going and representing Pakistan in other nations such as Poland and South Africa and is gearing up for the forthcoming events. Why then this Pakistani pageant being held in Canada and attracting an array of Pakistani American, Pakistani Canadian or Pakistani European girls is in existence, when the nation as a whole is doing what its best in doing, ignoring till some outsider discovers them? Well, according to the President of Miss Pakistan World, Sonia Ahmed who basically prides herself in doing what no other Pakistani in or out of Pakistan could do, says that Pakistan is a bit slow in giving importance and don't have the capacity to understand the potential of their own people. Seven years have gone by and definitely, from the bikini factors to last year's controversy of how President Musharraf was considered extremely handsome by one ex- Miss Pakistan World. News headlines have been made thanks to the massive Indian Media. It is only then Pakistani media followed the Miss Pakistan World news, states Ahmed. In Malaysia, where Pakistanis reside in great numbers, a recent Miss Pakistan World runner up, Naila Afzal, who is now the first Peshawari girl to make it to international pageants, representing Pakistan, said that she was overwhelmed with the response. Pakistanis love the fact that there is a Miss Pakistan existing, Afzal said, prancing around in her pretty red sash, which reads loud and clear, "Pakistan."