how cool is this!?!

blog.marianneclyde.com

It finally happened.  Saudi Arabia is having a beauty pageant.  That's right. A beauty pageant.  It's actually the second one and interest is growing:  from 75 contestants last year to almost triple that this year. Who would have thought?  The catch is that, instead of a parade of flawlessly firm, perfectly coiffed, expensively dressed (or not) beauties, there is a meeting of the minds and souls of women.

Apparently, when the pageant opens on Saturday, approximately 200 women will meet, attend classes on topics such as "Discovering Your Inner Strength" and discuss morally relevant topics.  One of the most highly valued virtues in the Muslim faith is to honor your parents.  Interestingly enough, that is also one of the most highly valued beliefs of the Christian and Jewish faiths also, as well as most others, I presume.  The winner of the pageant will have proven to the judges that she is most devoted to her parents and her commitment to Islamic morals is strong. 

What a radical idea to have a beauty pageant that values your inner beauty more than outer beauty.  Of course as in all things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  We may not all value the same things, but I think it is pretty important to value who one is instead of what one looks like.  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of beautiful people doing good and have been put in such positions because people think they are beautiful or important or famous.  We need to use whatever gifts we have.  If one of those gifts is a beautiful face and figure, or a high profile, that's great.  But let's not forget to look a little deeper and see the many valued gifts in our souls and minds as well. 

In the final analysis, it's what we do with the gifts that we have, not how we look or what we say.  I just want to applaud the effort to show these women in Saudia Arabia that they have value and they can use that value and the gifts that they possess to benefit others.  Then maybe we really will have "world peace".

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