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Maoists protest Miss Nepal contest

AFP

Newly crowned Miss Nepal Zenisha Moktan©, first runner up Richa Thapa Magar (L) and second runner up Kunchhang Moktan Tamang waves to photographers after the contest in Kathmandu on 24 September 2009. Around 100 Maoist protesters staged a sit-in as the 2009 Miss Nepal beauty contest got under way in Kathmandu.Republica/Nepal

Around 100 Maoist protesters staged a sit-in as the 2009 Miss Nepal beauty contest got under way in the capital Kathmandu on Thursday, police said.

The demonstrators blocked the road and shouted “down with Miss Nepal” and “stop the exploitation of women,” but left voluntarily as the contest began, police inspector Tul Bahadur Karki told AFP.

“Around 100 Maoist women staged a sit-in at the gate of where the beauty contest was being held,” said Karki.

“The protesters left the scene as soon as the programme started.”

The contest to select Nepal’s candidate for the annual Miss World competition is being held under tight security after it was cancelled last year by the former Maoist-led government, which branded it anti-women.

The Maoists formed a government last year after winning landmark elections, and lawmakers from the party later said they would not allow the Miss Nepal event to take place.

But Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal — who goes by the name Prachanda — resigned as prime minister in May after just eight months in the job.

Contestants for the Miss Nepal crown must impress the judges with a performance of traditional songs and dances, and are questioned on their ambitions and political views.

But unlike Western beauty pageants, Miss Nepal does not have a swimsuit round. Contestants in the deeply conservative, majority-Hindu nation appear in traditional saris.

Copyright © 2009 AFP

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