Miss Landmine Beauty Pageant to Begin in Cambodia

Miss Landmine Beauty Pageant to Begin in Cambodia
July 23, 2009 1:02 PM


ABC’s Clark Bentson reports from Rome:

The first Miss Landmine beauty pageant in Cambodia is set to begin in
August. This pageant follows a successful but highly controversial
contest in Angola last year where the world’s first Miss Landmine was
crowned. The goal of the pageant organizers is to bring attention to
the tens of thousands of people worldwide who have lost limbs because
of landmines. To this day, countless mines -- many of which are
American -- remain unaccounted for.

The competition will not follow a traditional beauty pageant model
with contestants parading across a stage. Instead the 20 contestants
will appear in a photo exhibition, and an official internet voting
campaign will follow where anyone can vote for their favorite
candidate. A specially selected jury will then choose the winner in
December and she will take home the top prize -- a custom-made
prosthetic leg.

Beauty pageants have been illegal in Cambodia since 1993. However,
the Cambodian government and the Cambodian Mine Action Authority fully
support the Miss Landmine competition.
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