‘No one can shut our voice’: Miss Universe Mexico confronts mistreatment
By Anabella González, Sol Amaya, Michael Rios, CNN
(CNN) — A video of a Miss Universe contestant being berated by a male pageant director in Thailand has sparked widespread allegations of misogyny as well as global discussions about women empowerment and merits of the international beauty pageant.
Nawat Itsaragrisil, president of Miss Grand International (MGI), was seen scolding Fatima Bosch, a 25-year-old contestant from Mexico, ahead of the 74th Miss Universe competition being held in Bangkok later this month.
In a live streamed pre-pageant meeting with dozens of other contestants, Nawat was shown accusing Bosch of not posting enough promotional content about the host country Thailand.
He suggested that Mexico’s pageant director had ordered her to sabotage those promotional activities, and appeared to say that if Bosch listened to those instructions, she was being a “dumbhead.” The Thai pageant director has denied saying this, insisting that he had actually accused her of causing “damage.”
When Bosch pushed back against the insults, Nawat tried to silence her, saying, “I didn’t give you (the) opportunity to talk.” He then called security to escort her out of the room. At that point, other contestants stood up and walked out in solidarity – prompting the pageant’s director to threaten them with elimination if they didn’t sit down.
Though Nawat later apologized publicly to the contestants, his actions drew swift condemnation around the world, including from Mexico’s president, who described it as an “aggression” that Bosch handled with “dignity.”
Anger and apology
Bosch, who was crowned Miss Universe Mexico earlier this year, denounced Nawat for insulting her.
Shortly after the exchange, she told the media that the mistreatment by the Thai official stemmed from a disagreement Nawat had with the Miss Universe Organization, whose president is also Mexican.
“I think that’s not fair because I’m here, and I do everything OK. I don’t mess with anyone. I just try to be kind. I’m trying to give my best,” the young woman said in a video posted on TikTok.
“He just said to me, ‘shut up,’ and a lot of different things. And I think that the world needs to see this because we are empowered women, and this is a platform for our voice, and no one can shut our voice,” Bosch said.
The president of the Miss Universe Organization, Raúl Rocha, also criticized the Thai businessman and restricted him from participating in further activities. Rocha said Nawat had humiliated and disrespected the Mexican contestant, and held him responsible for “the great abuse of having called security to intimidate a defenseless woman trying to silence and exclude her.”
“I have restricted Nawat’s participation in the events that are part of the 74th Miss Universe competition, limiting it as much as possible or eliminating it entirely,” Rocha said in Spanish.
Nawat apologized during a live streamed welcoming ceremony on Wednesday. He insisted that he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and that he respected all those involved. “I have to say I’m very sorry,” he told the dozens of participants who stood onstage beside him, including Bosch.
‘Women look more beautiful when we raise our voices’
News of the incident quickly reached as high as the Mexican presidency.
During a press conference on Wednesday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Bosch’s response was “an example of how women must raise their voices.”
Sheinbaum, who recently experienced an apparent groping incident, reflected on a sexist phrase often used to silence women in Mexico: “Calladita te ves más bonita,” which means, “You look more beautiful when you’re silent.”
“Well, I don’t know if anyone has said it to the women here, but they did say it to me,” the president said.
She proposed a more empowering mantra: “Women look more beautiful when we raise our voices and participate. Because that has to do with the recognition of our rights. So, I recognize this young woman.”
Crown and dignity
Catalina Ruiz Navarro, a Colombian feminist activist and journalist based in Mexico City, argued that the nature of beauty pageants like Miss Universe places women in a patriarchal position.
“The Miss Universe pageant is about disciplining and monitoring the body, and seeing how, through technology, intervention, exercise and diet, we adjust this body to conform to an ideal that is practically Catholic,” she said to CNN.
Ruiz Navarro also praised Bosch, saying her reaction was “truly courageous because she had so much to lose. And the fact that the girls left with her at the same time speaks to a collective outrage and marks a small line they were willing to cross.”
Sheynnis Palacios, Miss Universe 2023 and representative of Nicaragua, said on social media that “a crown should not cost a woman her dignity,” She argued that these pageants are supposed to empower, inspire and foster leadership, but that its purpose is betrayed “when power dynamics, humiliation or disrespect are generated.”
Alicia Machado, who was crowned Miss Universe 1996 representing Venezuela, said similar problems existed when she won the pageant. “I don’t understand why these international competitions continue to be condoned for engaging in unethical practices,” she said, calling for the pageant to be used to fight “for gender rights and equality in the world.”
Ruiz Navarro says Bosch’s actions and those of the other contestants could limit this type of behavior, but that it may not be enough. As long as beauty pageants exist, she says, “they have to be more inclusive, fairer, and they have to treat beauty queens with dignity.”
The pageant activities began on Sunday in Bangkok. Women from 130 countries are participating in this year’s edition, which concludes on November 21 with the crowning of the winner.
The-CNN-Wire
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