Miss Kurdistan among finalists for Miss World (2015)

Miss Kurdistan among finalists for Miss World (2015)

A 24-year-old Kurdish woman is among the 20 participants competing for the title of Miss World 2015 in a pageant to be held Monday in Thailand.

Leyli Chupani, ethnically Kurdish, follows last year's Miss Kurdistan,

“Now, I am in Thailand and preparations for Miss World pageant have already kicked off,” Chupani told Rudaw media by phone. "As a participant from Kurdistan, everybody here is treating me with lots of respects and the organizers of the festival have recognized Kurdistan as a state.”

Chupani who speak Kurdish, English and Persian, said she has become good friend with miss Russia, and her ability to speak Persian allowed her also to form a friendship with this year's Miss Iran.

The Miss World Festival Scholarship Pageants began in 1951. The pageant was owned by Donald Trump from 1996-2015, and was previously broadcast on NBC. 
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Photo by Facebook... Miss Kurdistan with Miss Russia.