Indonesia axes bikinis for 2013 Miss World pageant
Miss World has axed the famed bikinis from this year's
pageant in Indonesia, replacing the skimpy swimsuits with conservative beach
sarongs amid mounting protests from hard-line Muslim groups, organizers said
Thursday.
All of the more than 130 contestants will be required to
wear Bali's traditional long sarongs instead of the sexy bikinis that are
historically part of the competition, said Adjie S. Soeratmadjie of the RCTI,
the official broadcaster and local organizer.
Parts of the pageant will take place on the resort island of
Bali and the final round will be held Sept. 28 near the capital, Jakarta.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country.
"There will no bikini in this year's Miss World pageant
to respect our traditional customs and values," Soeratmadjie said, adding
that the London-based Miss World Organization is on board with the decision.
"This is a sensitive issue in Indonesia. We have
discussed it since last year and they have agreed," he said.
The chairwoman of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley,
confirmed that none of the 137 contestants would wear a bikini.
"Indonesia is designing for us a very beautiful
one-piece beachwear, and I'm very happy with them," she told The
Associated Press by phone from London, adding that the pageant will include a
special beachwear fashion show.
"I don't think Indonesia is the only country that has
that culture," Morley said. "But we like to work in the manner
respectful to every country, and I cannot see why when you go to somebody's
country you should not behave respectfully."
The pageant began in the 1950s, and the first winner was
crowned in a two-piece bathing suit.
Soeratmadjie said the sarong would be made creatively and
designed specifically for the event.
Controversy over the pageant has been mounting in Indonesia,
which has a reputation as a tolerant, pluralist society that respects freedom
of expression.
Clerics of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, said
they would send a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to demand that
the beauty pageant be canceled.
"That contest is just an excuse to show women's body
parts that should remain covered," said Mukri Aji, a prominent cleric from
West Java province's MUI branch. "It's against Islamic teachings."
Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, a hard-line Islamic group, said it
planned to stage a protest and called for the competition to be moved
elsewhere.
Most Muslims in Indonesia, a secular country of 240 million
people, are moderate, but a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in
recent years.
They have pushed through controversial laws — including an
anti-pornography bill — and have been known to attack anything perceived as
blasphemous, from transvestites and bars to "deviant" religious
sects.
Lady Gaga was forced to cancel her sold-out concert in
Indonesia in May following threats by Islamic hard-liners, who called her a
"devil worshipper." Jennifer Lopez toned down her sexy outfits and
dance moves during a show in Jakarta last December.
No comments:
Post a Comment