Nepal: Shristi Shrestha Crowned Miss Nepal 2012 · Global Voices
Pradeep Singh

Discussions about Miss Nepal echoed in all social media channels recently as organizers selected Shristi Shrestha as Miss Nepal in the Grand Finale of the beauty pageant of this year. The event was organised at Hotel de l’Annapurna in the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu.
Sixteen participants made it to the final competition of the most popular beauty pageant in Nepal. Shristi Shrestha who stood bold and confident was declared Miss Nepal 2012 in the 17th edition of the pageant. She will represent Nepal in Miss World 2012 which will be held on August 18, 2012, in Inner Mongolia, China. Subeksha Khadka and Nagma Shrestha were crowned Miss Nepal International and Miss Nepal Earth respectively in the pageant. Watch the video of the crowning here!
Although an annual event, this year’s contest occurred after seven months so that the winners get sufficient time to be groomed and sent to international beauty pageants. Nepal has yet to see any significant achievements from international beauty pageants.
Miss Nepal 2012, Shristi Shrestha, the name that was on everybody's lips for the night, was already an established professional model and was often referred as British-Nepali model as she had spent a long time living in the UK. Shrestha replaced former Miss Nepal Malina Joshi who had the crown only for seven months.
Shristi Shrestha – Miss Nepal – Image via Naresh Shrestha, Himalayan Times (used with permission)
One thing interesting with Miss Nepal however, is it never fails to be controversial. Be it protests from women right activists or the way it is organised, controversies soar for each contest. And then there are post-contest personal reasonings behind who deserved the crown better.
In a post titled “Reasons why I Missed Miss Nepal 2012 and Consequences”, Sworup Shakya writes:
Turns out Miss Nepal 2012 was already decided, long before it even stared. I found out that there were multiple pages and blog posts that were supporting one lady, Shristi Shrestha for the crown.
The event of the Miss Nepal Grand Finale was organised outdoors for the first time and in relations to that another blogger – Samriddhi Rai, who herself was a Miss Nepal participant once and brought the title of Best personality Award home from Miss Tourism Queen International 2011 – comments:
The stage was bad. I mean it was so, you know, school-functions-have-better-stage-than-that types. I at least assumed that it must've looked good on TV but NO, people who watched the event on TV had the same notion.
Justifying the criticisms, Miss Nepal 2002, Malvika Subba, one of the most popular Miss Nepal ever, writes on her Facebook page:
Grapes are sour cried the fox and that's what some people remind me of when they criticize others win and things that they could never achieve. I wonder if u had achieved the same status, would you still be saying grapes are sour!!!!
Miss Nepal criticisms are one thing that will continue forever. Who was more deserving in the contest will also keep varying on individual’s views and the discussions will keep on going. But what really matters is whether the country see some progress from the winners in international pageants. This year’s winner on my view deserved the crown and so under the sub heading “Shristi Shrestha – a New Hope“, I wrote on my blog:
Shristi Shrestha is a new hope for Nepal in international beauty pageants, especially when the country has yet to see some notable achievements in crucial pageants like Miss World. Congratulations to Shristi – She deserved it!
What do you think about Miss Nepal 2012 – Shristi Shrestha?