Beauty Queen Starts Reign

MaMayMyatNoebecomesfirstlocalwomanto win an international pageant

By ZARNI MANN / YANGON

Beauty queen Ma May Myat Noe has returned home after being the first from her country to ever win an international beauty pageant.

The 18-yearold Miss Myanmar beat out contestants from more than 30 countries, including South Korea (2nd), Macau (3rd) and India (4th), to win the Miss Asia Pacific World contest, held annually in South Korea since 2011.

She was also invited to become a special member of the Korean Film Actors’ Association—another first for Myanmar celebrities, according to Myanmar’s national director at the pageant, U Hla Nu Htun.

“This is a special moment not only for her, but for the country. We Myanmar people dreamed of taking home the beauty crown. We’re happy to show the world the beauty of our Myanmar belles,” U Hla Nu Htun told The Irrawaddy, following Ma May Myat Noe’s return to Yangon.

“She said she will first devote herself to social work, to give back what she received from the country. She will have a couple shoots for adver- tisements and will need to take care of her education as well.”

Ma May Myat Noe, who was officially crowned in late May, is also well known for performing in Myanmar singing contest “Eain Mat Sone Yar.”

She attended Myanmar International School in Yangon and then moved to Singapore for secondary school, where she excelled in athletics, particularly field hockey. She is now preparing to take examinations to study at the university level.

For about half a century of military rule, Myanmar beauty queens did not leave their country to compete at international competitions.

The first Myanmar contestant to do so, Ma Nang Khin Zayar, participated in a pageant in Japan in 2012. Following in her footsteps, two other Myanmar contestants, Ma Khin Wint War and Ma Htar Htet Htet, also competed at international pageants, winning various smaller awards for popularity on social media.

But before Ma May Myat Noe, no Myanmar pageant winner had won the main crown at an international pageant abroad.