Shaima Qassem : Iraq chooses 1st beauty queen since 1972

Shaima Qassem got the title of Miss Iraq. This event was organised in Iraq after 4 decades due to the war conditions.The first internationally recognized Miss Iraq beauty pageant took place in a hotel in Baghdad. The event held an importance for the country as a significant number of both Sunnis and Shiites hold conservative religious views.Iraq only held one pageant as part of Miss Universe – in 1972, when the country was ruled by the predecessor and cousin of Saddam Hussein, President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. Now Iraq is impoverished, torn by sectarian violence and at war with the brutal jihadist group, Islamic State, which has occupied Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul.

Security concerns prompted the relocation of the pageant's final from Basra to Baghdad. Two contestants dropped out of the competition after receiving death threats. The organizers reportedly said they were accused of “supporting Zionism” by the country's Sunni community.