Erica Robin Faces Backlash A Month before She Can Represent Pakistan @ Miss Universe Pageant
Erica Robin, a model hailing from Karachi, is preparing to proudly represent Pakistan at the forthcoming Miss Universe 2023 pageant scheduled for November in El Salvador.
Erica Robin, a model from Karachi, is gearing up to represent the country of Pakistan at the upcoming Miss Universe 2023 pageant to be held in November in El Salvador.
Beauty pageants are rare in this part of the region, making this a significant move. Pakistan has never nominated a representative for the Miss Universe pageant.
That being said, Erica has come under scrutiny even before she got the opportunity to showcase her skills to a global audience.
The higher authorities in Pakistan are not very happy about the representation at the Miss Universe Pageant. From the Pakistani Senator to the Caretaker Prime Minister; all have raised their voices against the organisers and the choice of the winner.
Pakistani Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami party said, “Who are the organisers of this beauty pageant in Pakistan? Who is doing this shameful act?”
Caretaker Prime Minister has asked the country’s intelligence agency to launch a probe against the organisers and their decision to choose the winner without Pakistan’s approval.
“The government and the state of Pakistan are represented by the state and government institutions. Our government has not nominated any non-state or non-governmental person or institution for any such activity, nor can any such person or institution represent the state or government. Period”, Pakistan’s Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi tweeted.
Erica Robin is a Christain who lives in Karachi. She completed her schooling in St. Patrick’s Girls High School and pursued her higher studies in the Government College of Commerce and Business Administration in Chandigarh according to dailypakistan.com.pk.
She defeated four finalists and earned the Miss Universe Pakistan title in the Maldives. During the selection process Erica expressed that she wanted to change the perception that people have about her country. Ironically, she’s in the middle of a controversy that contradicts the stereotype she’s trying to change.
“We are a nation of many contradictions and women and the marginalised trigger us the most,” Karachi-based writer and commentator Rafay Mehmood told the BBC.
“Pakistan is at large an authoritarian state and that reflects in the harsh patriarchal values it enables both institutionally and socially. Erica Robin and the policing she has faced is an extension of that,” he added.
It is left to be seen whether Erica Robin will be able to surpass the challenges mounting on her and emerge victorious at the Miss Universe pageant in the coming month.