Runner- ups to Miss World 2012

It seems Fiji is not the only country surrounded with scandal in the Miss World Competition this year. Late April, a Miss World contestant set to represent Dominican Republic was stripped off her title. Carlina Duran was dethroned because of her marital status. The competition rules state that the contestants should be single.

Duran, who owns a spa in Santo Domingo and comes from the town of La Vega, violated the rule that no contestant can have been married or have had a child. According to reports, Carlina has been married since 2009 and never told anyone about it. She has still not commented on being outed as a better half.Dominican newspaper Diario Libre reports that a marriage license shows she wed on June 6, 2009.

Did she really think she was going to get away with this? I’m sure she had her reasons but rules are rules, I guess. I also wonder who turned her in since managed to have kept it a secret since 2009. It is sort of normal that when someone becomes a celebrity, the dirty little secrets start to come out. In this case the secret was the husband. So now, you will be seeing the first runner-up, Dulcita Lieggi, in Mongolia.   

Another Miss World contestant who got the boot is Ireland contestant Maire Hughes. She had to give away her title earlier this month, also, because of her age. No she was not underage. This time it’s the other way around. According to the Miss World rules, she was too old.

The rules state that contestants must be 25 years old or less, unmarried and have no children. However, at a meeting to outline her duties and responsibilities at the weekend, it was discovered that Maire would be 26 when she took part in the world final.

In this case too, the contestant had revealed her age during the initial selection process, but was reassured that it was not a problem, just like what happened to Torika Waters. I think Miss World should train the organisers in different countries before they give them the franchise. As simple as the rules may sound, it is quite clear that the organisers are finding it hard to keep up. It will certainly root out the bad publicity the Miss World brand is receiving. So, first runner- up, Wright Venue Rebecca will now represent Ireland in Miss World 2012.

Here at home, Koini Vakaloloma is getting ready to go to Mongolia too. Vakaloloma, who was raised by her adoptive parents, is using the Miss World platform to advocate on children’s issues. Fijilive reported that she was teased at school because she did not look i- Taukei like her parents.

Vakaloloma has come a long way from those days of school yard teasing, but said she could relate her gowing up to her message to the Miss World Pageant as a real battle to advocate on the Children’s Rights and to show compassion for the underprivileged.

I wish her all the best and  thumbs up to the other runner- ups getting through.