For the first time in history, a Bangladeshi contestant is going to take part in the upcoming Miss International Beauty Pageant in Tokyo, Japan. The name is Farzana Yasmin Ananna - winner of the 2023 Miss International Bangladesh, and the 2021 Miss Universe Bangladesh first runner-up.
Prior to leaving her beloved motherland to create history, the Miss International Bangladesh 2023 spoke to the journalists on Monday, at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador to Dhaka, Baridhara in the capital.
The Ambassador IwamaKiminori and his wife Iwama Tomomi greeted Ananna at the residence. They also had conversations regarding a handful of socio-cultural aspects between the two friendly nations.
"As the first Bangladeshi to ever compete on the Miss International stage, I am about to make history. Being the first Miss International representative from my nation makes me feel really thankful, and I am committed to myself that I will uphold the glory of my country in front of the world," Ananna said, expressing her state of mind before heading to Japan.
At only 23 years old, she accomplished a handful - became a graduate majoring in Women and Gender Studies from Dhaka University, established her name as a social worker, became a young politician and now waiting to create history.
"However, it was not easy for me," Ananna said. Just a couple of hours before winning the Miss International Bangladesh, she lost her mother. "She left very suddenly, without any illness - but my father stood beside me, motivated me to evolve and win," she told UNB.
It takes more than just attractive appearances to win a beauty contest. The competition's dynamics go far beyond. By emphasizing the value of cultural and behavioural advocacy, beauty pageants endorse the idea of transcending beyond physical attractiveness.
As these competitions use the platform for welcoming significant changes in societies against stereotypes worldwide, they urge participants to highlight the most important causes to them.
The majority of them support causes related to racial injustice, gender equality, and assistance for mental health difficulties - and for Miss International, the theme is centring around promoting peace.
"From the very beginning of my Miss International Bangladesh journey, I kept in my mind that when it will be my turn to light up the stage - I wouldn't be called Ananna, but Miss International Bangladesh. From that perspective, I always tried to help our society, whenever and wherever I went - especially during the Covid-19 pandemic."
Further elaborating on this to UNB, Ananna informed that for the last seven years, she has been actively working as a social worker and promoting advocacy on the grassroots level.
"When there was a massive flood in Sylhet and Khulna, I went to help people. I was also one of the first COVID-19 frontliners, helping about 40 thousand people in the first 18 months of the pandemic. I worked in almost every area in Jessore, my home district where I helped people every single day. Although I kept myself isolated from my family, the learning of resilience from those people is something that made me even stronger."
