Vida Samadzai (born 22 February 1978) is an Afghan-American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was Miss Afghanistan 2003. As the first

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

woman to participate in an international

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

since 1974, her appearance in a red

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

in the 2003 edition of Miss Earth pageant created controversy in her native country. She was a contestant on the popular reality show ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through JioStar Network. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally availabl ...

'' in 2011.

Biography

Samadzai was born and raised in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1996. She graduated from

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

at Fullerton and became a citizen of the U.S. Samadzai also helped found a US-based women's

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

that seeks to raise awareness of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and education in the Afghanistan. After placing as the third runner up in Susan Jeske's first Ms. America International pageant in 2002, she applicated for consideration in the new Miss Earth pageant in 2003 and was selected as Afghanistan's representative from abroad, as there were no beauty queen contests in Afghanistan. Although she did not hold the title of a "Miss Afghanistan", this made her the first Afghan woman to take part in an international beauty contest since Zohra Daoud had been crowned Miss Afghanistan in 1974. Her participation in the Miss Earth

was condemned by the Afghan Supreme Court, saying such a display of the female body goes against

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

and Afghan culture. In particular, traditionalists objected to her appearance in a red bikini during the pageant's press presentation. She was given a special " Beauty for a Cause" award at that year's Miss Earth competition. The following year, Samadzai returned to the pageant and was among the 11 jurors who helped choose Priscilla Meirelles as Miss Earth 2004. On coronation night, the young women's rights

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

wore a gown, saying: "I don't know if they'll have a problem this time because I'm not showing any skin or wearing a swimsuit". On 1 May 2005, Vida Samadzai won Susan Jeske's little known Ms. America 2005-06 pageant.

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samadzai, Vida 1978 births Afghan emigrants to the United States California State University, Fullerton alumni Living people Miss Earth 2003 contestants Pashtun women People from Kabul Afghan female models Afghan beauty pageant winners American people of Pashtun descent 20th-century Afghan women 21st-century Afghan actresses