Thursday, July 13, 2006
Hammasa Kohistani - Miss England 2005 fund raising visit to Pakistan
Hammasa Kohistani, Miss England (2005) — the first Muslim (of Afghan origin) to achieve this distinction, overcoming a storm of controversy along the way and definitely silencing the radical, fundamental elements.
Shehzad Roy, the founder of Zindagi Trust had convinced the beauty queen to come to Pakistan and lend a helping hand in the NGO’s charity work. With charity being a strong raison d’etre of Miss England, and Hammasa feeling deeply for the underprivileged, especially girls’ education accepted Shehzad Roy offer.
The 19-year-old beauty moved to England with her family when she was 10. She says that after her parents fled Afghanistan during the Taliban period, they lived in a number of countries before ultimately settling down in the UK.
Hammasa is not a newcomer to the modelling arena, having been a model since she was 14. She has been on the cover of Asiana, Asian Woman, along with being featured in Hello, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Glamour among other fashion magazines of international repute. She has modelled for England’s SuperDrug, the GAP, and has been on many TV channels — CNN, BBC, ITV, etc — and has appeared in prominent TV shows and radio programmes. “I was 15 when I came on the cover of Asiana magazine,” she says her voice laced with pride.
Victory at the Miss England pageant came as a big surprise as she wasn’t expecting to win. It was with the encouragement of her parents that Hammasa got into modelling and eventually went for the Miss England beauty contest. She defeated 39 girls to be crowned Miss England, but a bigger battle was defeating the critics and the religious cynics who argued that her participation in the pageant was against their religious norms. But by listening to her heart and emboldened by her family’s support, she went for her dream and achieved it.
At five feet, seven-and-a-half inches, Hammasa is a tall girl, especially by Asian standards, but she knows that she would never be able to make it into the mainstream where the minimum height starts from five feet and eight inches & her limitations because of her religious and family values and her own morals. In her spare time, Hammasa enjoys the excitement of tackling new challenges and also loves to travel. She hopes her status as Miss England will give her the opportunity to travel more. She is also one of those very lucky ones who do not have a weight problem. “I have had the same weight since I was 15,” she says, disclosing that she really relishes junk food.
Shehzad Roy, the founder of Zindagi Trust had convinced the beauty queen to come to Pakistan and lend a helping hand in the NGO’s charity work. With charity being a strong raison d’etre of Miss England, and Hammasa feeling deeply for the underprivileged, especially girls’ education accepted Shehzad Roy offer.
The 19-year-old beauty moved to England with her family when she was 10. She says that after her parents fled Afghanistan during the Taliban period, they lived in a number of countries before ultimately settling down in the UK.
Hammasa is not a newcomer to the modelling arena, having been a model since she was 14. She has been on the cover of Asiana, Asian Woman, along with being featured in Hello, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Glamour among other fashion magazines of international repute. She has modelled for England’s SuperDrug, the GAP, and has been on many TV channels — CNN, BBC, ITV, etc — and has appeared in prominent TV shows and radio programmes. “I was 15 when I came on the cover of Asiana magazine,” she says her voice laced with pride.
Victory at the Miss England pageant came as a big surprise as she wasn’t expecting to win. It was with the encouragement of her parents that Hammasa got into modelling and eventually went for the Miss England beauty contest. She defeated 39 girls to be crowned Miss England, but a bigger battle was defeating the critics and the religious cynics who argued that her participation in the pageant was against their religious norms. But by listening to her heart and emboldened by her family’s support, she went for her dream and achieved it.
At five feet, seven-and-a-half inches, Hammasa is a tall girl, especially by Asian standards, but she knows that she would never be able to make it into the mainstream where the minimum height starts from five feet and eight inches & her limitations because of her religious and family values and her own morals. In her spare time, Hammasa enjoys the excitement of tackling new challenges and also loves to travel. She hopes her status as Miss England will give her the opportunity to travel more. She is also one of those very lucky ones who do not have a weight problem. “I have had the same weight since I was 15,” she says, disclosing that she really relishes junk food.
