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ISRAEL-MISS UNIVERSE-PAGEANT© GettyImages

Miss Universe beauty pageant reportedly welcomes wives and mothers to compete for the first time in history

The organization reveals the new decision will help them evolve with the times


Shirley Gomez
Senior Writer
AUGUST 8, 2022 11:01 AM EDT

Miss Universe has reportedly updated its beauty pageant rules and will begin welcoming wives and mothers to compete for the crown for the first time in history. According to The National, in 2023, the annual competition will accept married women and contestants with children.

The publication assures that they had access to an internal memo in which the organization reveals the new decision will help them evolve with the times. “We all believe that women should have agency over their lives and that a human’s personal decisions should not be a barrier to their success,” the memo said, according to The National. The new rules are expected to be effective for the 72nd pageant, held in 2023.

ISRAEL MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT© GettyImages
Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu, is crowned Miss Universe during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel’s southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat on December 13, 2021.

For over seven decades, single women with no kids between 18 and 28 years old were the only ones who qualified to compete. The contestants who had never been married or had children had to demonstrate to a group of judges why they were the right choice to represent their country and the organization.

“The Miss Universe Organization is always the greatest and most innovative platform of its kind, and now it will be more inclusive and welcoming to mothers and married women. For me, this is aligned with what I have been fighting for — breaking stereotypes and unlearning the stigma that the old society has forced on us from many, many decades ago,” Josh Yugen, chief executive of Yugen Group and the national director of Miss Universe Bahrain tells The National.

ISRAEL MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT© GettyImages
US TV host Steve Harvey speaks with Miss Nigeria, Maristella Okpala, as she wears her national costume on stage during the 70th Miss Universe beauty pageant in Israel’s southern Red Sea coastal city of Eilat on December 13, 2021.

In April, Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu  took to social media to reveal that she is facing a health problem. The same is responsible of triggering her extra poundsThrough her Twitter account, where she has almost 50 thousand followers, the 22-year-old Indian model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder revealed that she is allergic to gluten. This condition has affected her diet in recent months.

“Around 10-30% of the global population suffer from food allergies. I am having gluten allergy that is common and relatable to a major proportion of people worldwide which is manageable by just eliminating a few food groups from the diet.” she wrote.

Harnaaz Sandhu, Miss Universo© @harnaazsandhu_03

A day before revealing details about her health, Harnaaz addressed the controversy over his weight gain. Although social networks have been filled with information regarding body positivity and the acceptance of all bodies, criticism of people’s physique persists, especially among public figures, as is the case of Harnaaz Sandhu.

“A shape of your mind is more important than the shape of your body,” she wrote in a post accompanied by some images in which she appears modeling a dress.