Beauty queens have a bad rep these days. Think of the gibberish Ms South Carolina, in the Miss Teen USA 2007 contest, waxedlyrical on why Americans can't locate the USA on maps or Miss Serbia's comments in Miss Universe 2003 about why she wouldn't prefer to be fire or water. Their gaffes are forever remembered and ridiculed, thanks to websites such as YouTube, while the actual winners are now distant memories.
But thankfully, trite comments about world peace and saving African children never came up when tabloid! met American University of Sharjah (AUS) student Sara Al Khouly, who recently won the Miss Egypt World 2010 beauty pageant in Cairo.
The 22-year-old Egyptian-Croatian beauty, who has lived in Dubai for most of her life, is all set to conquer the Miss World 2010 pageant in China this October.
"Many people are against beauty pageants and think it's only about girls with good looks and bodies. It's also about how you deal with people and the good work you can do."
Al Khouly says she is passionate about raising awareness around human trafficking. "Another thing that touches my heart is the number of street children in Egypt who beg for food and money — it really upset me during the competition, as every child deserves a happy childhood."
Charity
To get into the semi-finals, Al Khouly needs to get involved with a charity and document her work with photos, videos, newspaper coverage and present it to the jury. Contestants travel to China in October and during that time they are evaluated on their interaction with other contestants, and on their personalities.
"It's during that time that we show them what we can do," Al Khouly said.
The Miss Egypt pageant, she said, was a brutal week of photo shoots, make-overs, interviews and rehearsals. The competition was held over one day and aired on Egyptian television channels.
Surprisingly, Al Khouly said there was no ill-feeling among contestants. "Of course it was competitive, but the girls were actually quite nice. There were no fights, but under pressure it was normal for people to snap at each other."
Al Khouly said she did not take home any prizes apart from her crown and sash, but that several contracts were in the process of being signed where she will be the public face of certain organisations and attend events on behalf of them.
'Biggest prize'
"But I consider being able to go to the Miss World contest as my biggest prize."
The beauty queen's dresses were all sponsored by two well-known Egyptian designers, Hisham Abul Ela and Hany Al Behairy. "The final costumes were done by Hany and the first evening gown by Hisham. There was no swimsuit segment in the competition, but I will have to do one in the Miss World contest," she said.
Al Khouly started modelling as a child and has recently done advertisement campaigns in the UAE. Her duties as Miss Egypt World 2010 will involve charity work and attending various events and acting as a corporate brand ambassador.
She says the reason she beat other competitors was due to her personality and charisma. "It's not a runway where you have that straight, plain look — it's the way you smile and it's your presence that makes people fall in love with you."
The mass communication student is currently in her second year at the AUS and hopes to continue modelling for now. After she graduates she'd like to establish her own public relations company or modelling agency.
Did you know?
This year's Miss World 2010 takes place in Sanya, China, on October 30. China is hosting the event for the fifth time.
Beauty queens from more than 120 countries will be competing in Miss World.
Miss World is the longest running event of its kind. Launched in 1951, it has become the world's most watched annual event, according to organisers, with a worldwide viewing audience of over 1 billion.
The reigning Miss World is Kaiane Aldorino (below) from Gibraltar and the very first winner was Sweden's Kiki Haakonson in 1951.
