Mariyah Moten is a Pakistani American beauty pageant runner up 4 of

Miss Pakistan World Miss Pakistan World is a national beauty pageant for women of Pakistani descent from around the world. The event used to be held in Toronto, Canada but has moved to Pakistan and is held annually in Lahore, Pakistan. History Launched in Canad ...

2006.

Biography

Mariyah was born in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan. She moved to the US with her family at the age of 5 and currently resides in the United States. Mariyah Moten graduated from

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

in with a degree in hotel management. Moten is now married to an American and resides in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Beauty pageants

After placing Top 5 at the

, a, the

organization sent Moten to represent Pakistan at the Miss Tourism Queen International pageant in 2006, where she won the Miss Charity Title among 87 other contestants. Later that year she competed in the

Miss Bikini of the Universe Miss Bikini of the Universe is an international beauty pageant held annually in Beihai, Guangxi, China. In 2009 the pageant was held from September 30 to October 6. It was planned to make a Guinness World Record with a T-shaped runway. The theme ...

pageant which was held in

Beihai Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internati ...

, China. This created an outrage among the Muslim community in Pakistan and all around the world. This was the first time a Pakistani girl has participated in a bikini pageant representing the Islamic majority nation. Due to this controversy, Mariyah Moten won the Best In Media/Miss Press title for being the most photographed and interviewed contestant in the entire pageant. Mariyah Moten, then represented Pakistan in a few other international pageants.

Controversy

In 2006, Mariyah Moten received criticism from Pakistani government officials for using the title Miss Pakistan Bikini. This was the first time a Pakistani girl participated in an international bikini beauty pageant overcoming the traditional barriers of the Islamic majority nation. Muslim leaders showed outrage when she won Best in Media. Mariyah's controversy landed her on the cover
''Gulf News'' of ''Sexy South Asian Girls'' 2007 calendar.
DNA India

References

External links

Miss Pakistan World WebsiteMiss Pakistan World Official Facebook GroupMiss Pakistan World Fan pageOfficial Blogsite for Mariyah Moten
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moten, Mariyah Pakistani female models Pakistani emigrants to the United States University of Houston alumni Living people 1984 births Miss Pakistan World winners Naturalized citizens of the United States American beauty pageant winners American female models Pakistani beauty pageant winners 21st-century American women

Biography

Beauty pageants

Controversy

See also

References

External links