Beauty Pageant, Saudi-Style

Thu, Apr 26, 2007 at 4:44:55 pm PDT

In the religious apartheid kingdom of Saudi Arabia, women are forced into shapeless black sacks, forbidden to drive, and beaten by the religious police if they accidentally expose an ankle, but camels have elaborate beauty pageants.

GUWEI’IYYA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - The legs are long, the eyes are big, the bodies curvaceous.

Contestants in this Saudi-style beauty pageant have all the features you might expect anywhere else in the world, but with one crucial difference — the competitors are camels.

This week, the Qahtani tribe of western Saudi Arabia has been welcoming entrants to its Mazayen al-Ibl competition, a parade of the “most beautiful camels” in the desolate desert region of Guwei’iyya, 120 km (75 miles) west of Riyadh.

“In Lebanon they have Miss Lebanon,” jokes Walid, moderator of the competition’s Web site. “Here we have Miss Camel.” ...

“Beautiful, beautiful!” the judge mutters quietly to himself, inspecting the group. Finalists have been decorated with silver bands and body covers.

“The nose should be long and droop down, that’s more beautiful,” explains Sultan al-Qahtani, one of the organisers. “The ears should stand back, and the neck should be long. The hump should be high, but slightly to the back.”