Queen Of the Infidels

Continuing our series on the perilous adventures of beauty queens in the Islamic world....

ABC News reports:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 10, 2006 — Iraq's newly crowned beauty queen, Tamar Goregian, has decided to step down — just four days after her election, making this the shortest reign in the pageant's 60-year history.

On April 9, the 23-year-old, who was the first Armenian Iraqi to win the Miss Iraq pageant, announced her resignation after receiving threats by a group of religious extremists who referred to her as "the queen of infidels" for participating in the contest.

The pageant director said: "I respect her decision. The country is undergoing rough times, and we understand her desire to protect herself and her family."

Read it here.

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And how about those women who aren't beauty queens?

The NYT reports:

DAMASCUS, Syria, April 10 — Syria's first comprehensive field study of violence against women has concluded that nearly one married woman in four surveyed had been beaten. The study was released last week as part of a report on Syria by the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

Read it here.

Yet at present both Hugh Hefner and the major feminist organizations are united in their opposition to President Bush's attempts to liberalize Islamic culture. Interesting....