Model and beauty queen Nadeen Ayoub will represent Palestine in the 2025 Miss Universe pageant in Thailand in November, a first for the war-ravaged territory and for the pageant in its 74-year history.
Her groundbreaking participation comes in light of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
A dire situation mounting calls to end the nearly two-year-long armed conflict between Hamas and Israel, and an international push for Palestinian statehood.
More than a title
On Instagram, Ayoub said joining Miss Universe is more than just winning a title.
She said she will use the pageant’s platform to raise the voice of Gaza’s most vulnerable.
“Today, I step onto the Miss Universe stage not just with a title – but with a truth.”
“As Palestine endures heartbreak – especially in Gaza – I carry the voice of a people who refuse to be silenced.”
“I represent every Palestinian woman and child whose strength the world needs to see,” the 27-year-old wrote in a post dated August 14.
“We are more than our suffering – we are resilience, hope, and the heartbeat of a homeland that lives on through us.”
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Ayoub’s post was accompanied by a video of her wearing a white, embroidered traditional dress designed by Palestinian designer Hiba Abdelkarim.
In the video, she introduced her initiative, Saidat Falasteen, which aims to highlight stories of resilience, creativity, and hope that “rarely makes the news”.
She said she dedicates her pageant journey to “every single girl who dares to dream beyond the headlines and for every woman shaping a better future despite the odds”.
The Miss Universe Organisation confirmed Ayoub’s participation in the world’s most prestigious pageant in an August 17 statement to CNN.
“The Miss Universe Organisation proudly welcomes delegates from across the globe, celebrating diversity, cultural exchange, and the empowerment of women,” the organisation said.
“Ms. Ayoub, an accomplished advocate and model from Palestine, embodies the resilience and determination that define our platform.”
Beauty with a purpose
Born to a lawyer father and an educator mother in Ramallah, Ayoub grew up between Palestine, the United States, and Canada.
After graduating with degrees in psychology and literature from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, she returned to Palestine to work as a certified wellness and nutrition coach.
Ayoub first made history in 2022 when she was crowned Miss Palestine at the age of 24.
She went on to compete in the Miss Earth pageant the same year, finishing in the top five.
After Miss Earth, Ayoub was supposed to join Miss Universe in 2023, but she had to postpone it after war broke out between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with the Emirati daily newspaper The National, she said she “wanted to focus more on staying behind the scenes” at the time “because the spotlight was supposed to be on the people in Palestine who are suffering, rather than me”.
Now based in Dubai, Ayoub dedicates her time to Olive Green Academy, a content creation school that “blends sustainability with artificial intelligence”.
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