Vida Samadzai
Encyclopedia
Vida Samadzai is Miss Afghanistan
Miss Afghanistan
Miss Afghanistan may refer to:*Zohra Daoud, the first and only official Miss Afghanistan ever crowned*Vida Samadzai, candidate in Miss Earth 2003*Zallascht Sadat, Miss Afghanistan Germany 2008...

 2003. Although, the Republic of Afghanistan never recognized Samadzai as Miss Afghanistan. As the first Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 woman to participate in an international beauty pageant since 1974, her appearance in a red bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...

 in the 2003 edition of Miss Earth
Miss Earth
Miss Earth is an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness. Miss Earth is also one of the most publicized beauty contests in the world....

 pageant created controversy in her native country.She also entered in fifth season
Bigg Boss (season 5)
Bigg Boss 5 in 2011 is the fifth season of the Indian reality TV show Bigg Boss, which aired on Colors from 2 October 2011 to 7 January 2012 with Sanjay Dutt as the host...

 of the reality television show Bigg Boss.

Biography

Samadzai, an ethnic pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

, was born and raised in khost province, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, and moved to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1996. She is a student at California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...

 and has a double major in Advertising and Speech Communications. She speaks five languages fluently and is involved with helping the Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. Her life ambition is to work for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 and be a leader and helper for Afghan women whose rights were suppressed for over a decade.

Samadzai said her participation in the contest sent out a powerful message to her fellow countrywomen. Samadzai also helped found a US-based women's charity that seeks to raise awareness of women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...

 and education in the Afghanistan.

She was the second Miss Afghanistan to take part in a beauty contest since Zohra Daoud
Zohra Daoud
Zohra Yousuf Daoud is a former Afghan TV celebrity and model now a citizen of United States. In December 1972 Dawoud became the first and only woman to this date ever to be crowned Miss Afghanistan, months before a bloodless coup forced King Zahir Shah into exile...

 was crowned Miss Afghanistan in 1974. Her participation in the Miss Earth beauty pageant in 2003 was condemned by the Afghan Supreme Court, saying such a display of the female body goes against Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 and Afghan culture
Culture of Afghanistan
The culture of Afghanistan has been around for over two millenniums, tracing record to at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire in 500 BCE. Afghanistan translates to the "place of Afghans" or "land of the Afghans" in the nation's official languages, Pashto and Dari...

. In particular, traditionalists objected to her appearance in a red bikini during the pageant's press presentation. She was given a special "Beauty for a Cause
Beauty for a Cause
Beauty for a Cause is a special award initially given in Miss Earth 2003 competition to the candidate who made the most significant social contribution...

" award at that year's Miss Earth competition.

Her participation in the beauty contest can be considered to be a sharp contrast to the beliefs of the former Taliban regime, which demanded that women wear coverings, or burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...

s, from head to toe whenever they went out in public.

The following year, Samadzai returned to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. She was among the 11 jurors who helped choose Priscilla Meirelles
Priscilla Meirelles
Priscilla Meirelles Almeida , from Brazil, won the 2004 Miss Earth pageant held in the Philippines. In winning Miss Earth, Brazil became the first country to win the "Big Four" in beauty pageants. She is 5'10" tall with a 35"-24"-35" figure also claimed the Most Photogenic Award. She also won the...

 as Miss Earth 2004
Miss Earth 2004
Miss Earth 2004, the 4th edition of Miss Earth beauty pageant, took place at the University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines on October 24, 2004...

. On coronation night, the young women's rights activist wore a gown, saying: "I don't know if they'll have a problem this time because I'm not showing any skin or wearing a swimsuit".

Awards & achievements

On May 1, 2005, Vida Samadzai won the [Ms. America] 2005-06 pageant.

On July 3, 2005 she represented the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 at Miss Tourism Queen International 2005, where she was named the first Miss Personality in the pageant's history.

Vida has also appeared in a low budget Bollywood movie titled "Runway".

Quotes

  • "I would like to make people aware that, as Afghan women, we are talented, intelligent and beautiful."

  • "Now, women can go to school, go to work, they're free. They don't have to wear those long burqas anymore."

  • "If I offended some people, some women in Afghanistan, I apologize. I represent myself. Afghan women should be allowed to do anything they want. Their rights shouldn't be suppressed. They should speak their mind, to be whatever they want to be."

External links

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