A partner of the Miss Universe pageant supported the idea of the international beauty competition accepting mothers and married women as candidates.
Reports said Miss Universe will allow them to compete beginning next year.
Filipina beauty specialist Olivia Quido-Co, whose skincare brand is the official beauty partner of Miss Universe, said that she is “okay” with the prestigious pageant reportedly changing its rules to be more inclusive.
“Siyempre nagulat (ako), kasi after 71 years, pinalitan nila ‘yung rule, pero I’m okay with that. We give opportunities to everyone,” she said to News5 entertainment correspondent MJ Marfori.
Quido-Co said that she finds the reported rule change an “equality” among beauty queen aspirants since there are married women and mothers who also dream of becoming beauty queens.
“I’m okay with that kasi marami naman, kumbaga, pinag-aralan, nag-research, nag-survey, so ‘yun ‘yung mga palagi nilang naririnig na ‘Sana, meron din, pwede rin sa may anak na’ kasi siyempre, may mga batang on that age na pangarap nila ‘yun, but they don’t have the opportunity, very limited sila,” she said.
Quido-Co added that she has “met” women who fit the age bracket of the beauty pageant but cannot join because they got pregnant.
“Ako, I’m okay with that (new rule). Gusto ko silang mabigyan ng chance to be on that stage and showcase their beauty and talent globally,” she was quoted in another report.
Shamcey Supsup, the director of the Miss Universe Philippines Organization, said they will “wait” for the official statement of the Miss Universe Organization first before commenting.
Meanwhile, based on the reported Instagram of beautician Magali Febles, the Miss Universe Organization will start accepting married women and mothers starting in 2023. She is the national director of the Miss Universe Dominican Republic.
The reported change will be applied in the next edition since many countries have already chosen their representatives for the 2022 edition this December.
A United Arab Emirates newspaper also cited an “internal memo” that reportedly mentioned the pageant rule change.
“In an internal memo seen by The National, the organization says it has always strived to evolve with the times and the latest decision was the natural next step,” the report said.
It also quoted some parts of the supposed memo: “We all believe that women should have agency over their lives and that a human’s personal decisions should not be a barrier to their success.”
The Miss Universe competition, considered the most prestigious beauty pageant worldwide, is currently limited to single women who are 18 to 28 years of age and have never been pregnant or had children.
