Saudi model vying for Miss Universe title?

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia could have its first Miss Universe contestant this year, organizers said this week, after a fashion model and influencer claimed she had been selected.

The Miss Universe Organization “is currently undergoing a rigorous vetting process qualifying a potential candidate to be awarded the Saudi Arabia franchise,” Maria Jose Unda, the organization’s coordinator of international relations, said in a statement to Agence France-Presse.

“We’ll have a decision on the National Director for Saudi Arabia very, very soon,” she said, noting it was “possible” for Saudi Arabia to have a contestant in place before the next edition of the competition, scheduled for September in Mexico.

The statement came after Saudi model Rumy al-Qahtani created a buzz online in late March when she posted to her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers that she was “honored” to represent Saudi Arabia at the upcoming event.

The post included pictures of Qahtani, a 27-year-old native of Riyadh, in a sequined dress holding the green Saudi flag inscribed with the shahada, or Islamic creed.

Less than a week later, Miss Universe issued a statement referring to Qahtani’s post as “false and misleading” and saying no selection process had been carried out in the Gulf kingdom.

Fielding a Miss Universe candidate, if it happens, would mark another step in Saudi Arabia’s effort to soften its ultraconservative image as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, tries to lure tourists and investors.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude oil exporter, has long been associated with the repression of women because of former rules such as a ban on driving and a requirement to wear abaya robes.

Rumy al-Qahtani’s post says she is honored to represent the kingdom in the beauty pageant but organizers deny it.