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Natasha
Paracha wins
6th Annual Miss Pakistan World 2008 title
By Abinta Muttreja
Globalom
Media
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The Winner
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The Winner and runners-up with
Sonia
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The Winner with Monica, Abinta and
Joseph
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Photos
by Monica, Abinta and Joseph - Globalom Media team
Miss World Pakistan 2008 was an evening
filled with great
entertainment, elegance, glamour
and style, held on May 23, 2008 at the Versailles Convention Centre.
Natasha
Paracha, 23 years, a resident of New York, from Islamabad, Pakistan, was
crowned Miss World
Pakistan 2008.
The highlight of the evening was the
participation of ten beautiful ladies who had come from different parts of
the world, including the UK, the USA and also Canada, to compete
for what has become the most controversial crown in the pageant world and make their dreams come true.
The night also featured a special guest of
honour, Chief of Police Mr. Armand P. La Barge of the York Region Police
Services, who was very pleased to join many of the community members at this great event.
The Master of Ceremonies was no other than
a recognized actress, Sitara Hewitt, who has performed at theatre shows as
well as movies.
Mrs. Pakistan Word 2008, Saman
Hasnain,
accompanied the contestants along with Miss World Canada 2008, Leah Ryerse,
and Miss Pakistan World 2007 Mahleej Sarkari.
The event began with an opening
dance by the ten ladies, followed by an introduction round. Then there was
a traditional dress round, Question and Answer period, and then the talent
round.
After dinner there was evening gown round
and finally after all that excitement it came down to the Final Four.
As
Miss Pakistan World 2008, Natasha, who currently works for the
United Nations, will spend
the next year travelling and representing the Pakistani community in
events promoting today's Pakistani women. She also received many prizes
including jewellery given by the Immaculate Diamonds, all-inclusive trip
representing Pakistan at an international pageants, a free web site for a
year and many other gifts from sponsors of this event.
The pageant also saw other winners: Vimi Spa Miss
Photogenic was awarded to Mehvish Sheikh from Lahore, Parissa Miss Smooth
Skin was awarded to Binish Zaidi from Karachi, Sherwood Miss Congeniality
was awarded to Tahira Iqbal from Lahore, Miss Perfect Ten was awarded to
Samera Bilal from Gujrat and Miss Talent was awarded to Binish Tahir Zaidi
from Karachi. The runner ups were: 4th runner up Tahira Iqbal from Lahore,
3rd runner up Nosheen Idrees from Jhelum, 2nd runner up Binish Zaidi from
Karachi, 1st Runner up Samera Bilal from Gujarat, Pakistan. All of these
title winners will be representing Pakistan internationally. Runner ups also received jewellery and gift
hampers from sponsors.
The panel of judges included five credible individuals with different
background within the beauty, business and entertainment field. The
judges who decided on the fates of these beauties were: Asif
Jamal (Karachi, Pakistan) events manager and consultant, Chetna Patel
(owner of Vimi Spa), Mr. Kamal Zafar (Lahore, Pakistan an Orthopaedic
doctor), Kishore Patel (Immigration Consultant) and Joyce Haist (from the
National Bank of Canada).
The
event focuses on beauty, talent and cultural strength while allowing these
young women to feel a part of the mainstream instead of ostracized from
the Western world.
The new Miss Pakistan World, Natasha Paracha, is an honours graduate
from the University of California, Berkley and is currently living in New
York City. Paracha founded both the Pakistani Student Association at UC
Berkley as well as a non-profit organization NGO – Vision of
Development. Her non-profit organization was founded after visiting
villages in rural Pakistan and recognizing the need for basic resources
and opportunities. Vision of Development works to implement basic
educational programs as well as tools to empower women throughout rural
Pakistan. Her goal over the next year is to represent Pakistan while
bringing about awareness that in today’s climate, 51 million
Pakistani’s do not have the adequate access to medical and urgent care.
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Sonia Ahmed
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For six years, founder
and Creative Director of the pageant, Sonia Ahmed has seen the beauty and
entertainment world begin to embrace her community in a very quick and
robust fashion.
Congratulations to
Sonia Ahmed for bringing Miss Pakistan
World at such a great height where it is recognized internationally. Sonia, the mastermind behind this
event, put on a great show and made this pageant a success
along with her team. She said, " there is always room for
improvement and new ideas and I will definitely make more of an effort to
make this event even more memorable next year."
Referring
to the controversy, which has surrounded the event since its
launch, Sonia says, “Pakistani women have always
felt compelled to stay in the background. They have never had the same
opportunities to create a voice and stand for what they believe in. It was
only after living in Canada that I realized that women really do have the
power to make a difference and make a change. You see it every day here
(in Canada) and I hope that the women of Pakistan begin to see that as
part of their reality soon.”
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Pakistan’s slow changing movement to liberate its
women forbids such events from taking place on Pakistani soil. Thus, women
who want to stand up for change and progression must make the trip to
Canada to compete for their own country.
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