Cambodia bans 'Miss Landmine' beauty pageant (amputee contest)

Source: Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The Cambodian government said Monday it will not allow a "Miss Landmine" beauty pageant to take place later this week, calling it an insult to the disabled.

"The land mine beauty contest would make a mockery of Cambodia's land mine victims," said government spokesman Khieu Khanarith. "The government does not support this contest."

The Ministry of Social Affairs sent a letter to the pageant's organizers Friday informing them of the ban and saying the contest would damage "the dignity and honor of our disabled."

The contest was scheduled to be held this Friday. The Ministry of Social Affairs was supposed to be one of the pageant's partners, along with the Ministry of Women's Affairs and other groups, according to the pageant's Web site.



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I think that the visibility of these people is important. There are so many who have been marginalized, that maybe it's not so bad.

I don't like beauty pageants. That is why I have mixed feelings. I just see that, in the context of a society that DOES accept such venues, that increasing the visibility of different people in them might not be all bad. I'm not sure that this wouldn't be a means of reforming such pageants for the better.

Cutting through the media buzz is often hard for organizations that have no money and support causes far outside the mainstream. That is my guess. I could be wrong given that this world has enough bad people in it to fill several other worlds.

more than their limbs already were.