Newly crowned Miss Iraq, Shaima Qasim Abdulrahman, has big dreams for herself and her country, including one that involves former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
In an interview with the Times of India, the 20-year-old revealed that she dreams of visiting India and meeting the Jazbaa actress. “One of my dreams is to visit India, meet Aishwarya Rai and ask her for secrets of success. I’ve read about her and love the way she manages her life,” the beauty said.
Shaima, pageant queen of the beauty competition held in Baghdad after 43 years, hopes that media coverage of the event will help change people’s perception of Iraq as a war-torn country.
“International media used to show images of violence and war in Iraq – this was a great chance to prove to the world that the situation in Iraq is getting better. Iraqi families are accepting a civil life,” she said.
Speaking about the role of women in the country, Shaima said, “Women in Iraq enjoyed a positive history – many women positively influenced the political, social, scientific and artistic history and life of Iraq. Due to political regimes and wars of the last few decades, women’s role decreased. We hope we can increase positive participation by women at all levels now.”
A student of business administration in college, Shaima aims to use her position to target the lack of education in Iraq. “My main project is educational support for children in IDP camps in Iraq. I’m trying to promote awareness of this important issue. I’ll hopefully conduct a campaign towards the education of children in these camps,” she said.
It also seems that she is hopeful of a ‘new Iraq’ as she proudly says, “The Iraqi army is succeeding in getting rid of ISIS terrorists. We’re happy these victories will help in social development and national reconciliation – the hard years of violence will not be repeated and we have much to give to our country now.”
“Iraq is big – Iraq has enough space to contain all the ethnicities. Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Iraqi constitution – and this is one of the pillars of new Iraq,” she added.
