Battlepanda: There she goes...Miss Iraq

Battlepanda

Always trying to figure things out with the minimum of bullshit and the maximum of belligerence.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

There she goes...Miss Iraq

AMMAN, Jordan -- Iraq's newly crowned beauty queen has gone into hiding, fearing she will be targeted by Islamic militants who reportedly threatened to kill other women who participated in a Baghdad pageant last week.

Silva Shahakian, an Iraqi Christian, received the title of Miss Iraq when the initial winner stepped down after receiving death threats and two other runners-up also bowed out, a person familiar with the event said Wednesday.

Since receiving the crown, Shahakian has been lying low, fearing she will be targeted, he said. The pageant was held April 9 in a Baghdad social club and the initial winner, Tamar Goregian, gave back the crown four days later, he said.

I guess the problem with Iraq is we're not reporting the good news...and perhaps they need more beauty queens who won't cut-and-run.