Nigeria urges beauties not to boycott Miss World
Lagos (Reuters)- Promoters of the 2002 Miss World beauty contest in Nigeria said on Saturday countries threatening a boycott because of death sentences for adultery passed by Muslim courts would protest more effectively by taking part.
Silverbird Promotions, co-sponsors of what would be the biggest showbiz event in Nigeria, said they were worried some countries that had not registered for the pageant were also considering puling out.
"By participating in the pageant these countries will be making a strong political statement,"Silverbird Promotions' chief executive Guy Murray-Bruce told Reuters.
"If they want to make any point against sharia let them come to Nigeria where they will receive greater attention from the international media during the contest," he said.
About a dozen states in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria adopted the strict Islamic sharia legal code in 2000.
The latest boycott threats from France and Belgium, came after Norway, Ivory Coast and Kenya pulled out of the event slated for the Nigerian capital Abuja in November in protest at the death by stoning sentence handed down to Amina Lawal, a nursing mother who was convicted of adultery.
About a dozen countries have said they were still undecided about whether to participate in the contest.
Nigeria faced a barrage of international criticism after a higher sharia court last month upheld the death sentence on Lawal passed by a lower sharia court.
It is likely to come under additional pressure after another sharia court sentenced a couple last week to be stoned to death for adultery.
The pageant is also under threat by militant Islamic groups who have said that staging the event in November, the holy month of Ramadan, would offend the sensibilities of Nigerian Muslims.
Afica's most populous nation of more than 120 million is evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. More than 3,000 people have died in religious riots in the past two years in the traditionally secular country.
Nigeria won the right to host the annual pageant after Nigeria's Agbani Darego was crowned Miss World at the last contest in South Africa.
Nigeria hopes that hosting pageant, begun in 1951, would boost its tourism industry and reduce its heavy dependence on revenues from crude oil.
"The funny thing is that some of the countries threatening to pull out did not even enter for the pageant," Murray-Bruce said. "How can they be talking of pulling out of what they are not a part of?"
September 9, 2002
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