Miss Tibet - History

History

The first-ever Miss Tibet Pageant was held in October 2002 and was a success despite criticism from some prominent figures of the Tibetan community. The pageant was criticized as "aping western culture" and "un-Tibetan". The pageant has continued yearly since then.

In 2002, only four Tibetan girls participated in the competition. In two editions — 2003 and 2005 — the pageant had only one participant. In those years, that participant became the default winner. In 2006, the swimsuit competition was opened to the public. It was a surprising event because traditional Tibetan women wear clothing to their ankles.

The Miss Tibet Pageant 2012 was cancelled in response to increased tensions in Tibet and in support of the protests there.

Miss Tibet 2002, Dolma Tsering, has competed in two international pageants. She also won the Miss Goodwill subsidiary title from the pageant in Malaysia and the Best National Costume from another pageant in Mexico.

The Dalai Lama considers the pageant unimportant, but it is still held due to popular demand.

Of late, the Chinese government has interfered, pressuring international directors to name Miss Tibet as "Miss Tibet-China". Two Miss Tibets had to withdraw from international pageants — Zimbabwe and Malaysia — after they were asked to wear sashes with this title. Miss Tibet 2007 Tenzin Dolma was asked to wear such a sash in the Philippines at the last minute, but she refused, and was allowed to go ahead with the Miss Tibet sash. Miss Tibet 2006 Tsering Chungtak withdrew from the Miss Tourism Pageant in Malaysia after Chinese government representatives pressured the organiser to enter her as "Miss Tibet-China" in November 2007. Miss Tibet 2004 Tashi Yangchen had to withdraw from a pageant in Zimbabwe after the Chinese embassy in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, in a similar case of Chinese interference, asked her to wear a "Miss Tibet-China" sash in February 2005.

In October 2011, Tenzin Yangkyi, Miss Tibet 2011, was sent to the Miss Asia Pacific World 2011 beauty pageant, held in Daegu, Seoul, and Busan in South Korea. During the pageant, Yangkyi received pressure from the Chinese government to wear a sash saying "Tibet-China", but she refused. Instead, she decided to change the sash name to "Swiss Tibet", as she is a Swiss citizen.