(CMR) The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has announced a decision to allow “women who are or have been married, as well as women who are pregnant or have children” to compete starting in 2023.
The decision was announced via a letter sent to the national directors from Hector Joaquin. In the letter, citing Miss Universe CEO Amy Emmerich, the executive expressed that since her appointment in January 2022, she has been interested in evolving with “changing times to better represent and support women globally.”
“As part of the next phase in our evolution, we have implemented the following changes: effective and early contests in the 72nd Miss Universe pageant leading up to, Women who are or are already married, as well as women who are pregnant or have children, will be able to compete,” Emmerich said.
The decision represents a radical change in the organization, which only allowed single women to enter for 70 years. Divorced women or women were not allowed to enter the beauty pageant.
The contest has been changing in recent years. Last year, Miss Universe Bahrain made history by choosing to walk the swimsuit round in fully-covered sportswear. In the Miss Universe 2018 pageant, the participation of Spanish transgender Angela Ponce completely changed the fact that until then, only women of birth were allowed to participate.
Based in New York, Miss Universe Organisation also owns the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, besides the global Miss Universe pageant.
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