El Salvador: Nicaragua, Australia and Thailand made it to the final three of the Miss Universe competition this year and finally Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua was crowned Miss Universe 2023. Sheynnis Palacios was crowned on November 19 at the Jose Adolfo Pinde Arena in San Salvador, El Salvador. India’s Shweta Sharda qualified for the semi-finals and was ranked in the top 20. Shweta failed to enter the top 10 after the swimsuit round.
As the competition was tough and most of the best contestants failed to qualify for the swimwear round, it was Pakistan’s Erica Robin whose outfit grabbed eyeballs despite failing to qualify for the final round. Erica Robin created history as she is the first Pakistani who participated in Miss Universe beauty pageant.
Erica Robin is a 25 year old Pakistani who earlier won Miss Universe Pakistan in September this year and she has now created another history by wearing a burkini during swimsuit round. Yes, Erica has created a record as she becomes the first woman to wear a burkini during swimsuit round in the Miss Universe competition. She has faced a backlash for participating in the event and has been trending on social media platforms in Asia.
Erica Robin who hails from Karachi represented Pakistan at the Miss Universe beauty pageant. After Erica Robin decided to participate in the beauty pageant, she was targeted by various influential personalities of Pakistan. Politician Mushtaq Ahmad of Jamaat-e-Islami called it ‘Shameful’ for any Pakistani to participate in such events.
Erica Robin, who is a Christian while talking about backlash told BBC , “It feels great to represent Pakistan. But I don’t understand where the backlash is coming from. I think it is this idea that I would be parading in a swimsuit in a room full of men”.
