ERBIL, Kurdistan Region –Vian Amer Noori Sulaimani, a Kurdish woman who won the Miss Iraq beauty pageant contest says she is planning to run in the upcoming Miss Universe contests. Vian, 23, a native of the Kurdish city of Sulaimani won the title of Miss Iraq last month, coming from the Karkh side of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. A statement from her team says that Vian will be joining two contests for Miss Universe in the United Kingdom and the United States. In both pageant contests she will be representing Iraq. In her current title of Miss Iraq, she is working on projects run by the Ministry of Culture as well as non-governmental organizations. Vian works as an analyst at an investment/insurance firm and holds a degree in software engineering. This is the first time she has competed in a beauty pageant. Miss Iraq is one of Iraq’s oldest surviving national cultural events. It was founded by the Hotel and Tourism Association of Iraq in 1972. The event is the only official beauty pageant of Iraq which includes the Kurdistan Region and is recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Antiquities of Iraq. It is also the only national pageant authorized to send representatives abroad to international competitions. This year also marks the first time that women of Arab, Kurdish, Chaldo-Assyrian, Turkmen and Yazidi origin competed in a national event together.
