Miss Iraq has been crowned for the first time in over four decades.
Eight young women took part in the long-awaited beauty pageant held in Baghdad over the weekend. The first ever Miss Iraq contest took place in 1972.
Shayma Qassim Abdelrahman, a 20-year-old student from Kirkuk city, was the winner. She will now have a chance to represent in the Miss Universe contest to be held in Bangkok early next year, according to RT.
"I'm very happy to see Iraq going forward. This event was huge and put a smile on the faces of the Iraqis," green-eyed Qassim told AFP after winning the competition.
The Iraqi beauty queen has received a threatening phone call from Sunni jihadist group ISIS following her win. The Islamic State militants asked her to join the ranks of their group or she will be kidnapped, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Qassim, however, said that the death threats will not stop her and she will continue forward despite any obstacles.
"(I will) continue forward despite any obstacles. I want to prove that the Iraqi woman has her own existence in society, she has her rights like men. I am afraid of nothing, because I am confident that what I am doing is not wrong," she told NBC News.
