The 2018 Miss Ukraine Was Disqualified After Pageant Organizers Found Out She Had a Son

Jasmine Ting
Updated
Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

From Cosmopolitan

Honestly, how is a well-intentioned beauty queen supposed to make world peace happen when she can't even smooth over behind-the-scenes pageant drama?! More pageant world controversy has emerged ahead of this year's Miss Universe competition, which takes place in Thailand in December. Because the, well, now-former Miss Ukraine 2018, Veronika Didusenko, has been disqualified less than a week after winning the title after officials found out that she was 1) divorced and 2) a mother!

This past Monday, the organizing committee for the pageant released a statement claiming says that 23-year-old Didusenko had violated the competition's rules. Translated in English, it reads:

"In accordance with the Rules of conducting the National Beauty Contest, a person who wishes to take part in the National Beauty contest" Miss Ukraine "must comply, among other things, with the following requirements (valid for the period of the Contest):
- not / was not married;
- does not have a child."

According to Yahoo News, Didusenko allegedly did not disclose the truth about her four-year-old son or her previous marriage.

In her first statement after news of the de-crowning broke, Didusenko thanked her followers for their support during "such a difficult time." But in a press conference held on Thursday, she announced that she will be launching a global campaign against the discrimination towards mother who want to participate in the Miss Universe pageant.

PRESS RELEASE Veronika Didusenko is launching a global campaign against discrimination toward women participating in the Miss World pageant on the basis that they are mothers. On September 27, Veronika Didusenko held a press conference where she made her first official statement regarding her disqualification and removal of the Miss Ukraine 2018 title, about her reasons, and her subsequent actions. On September 20, 2018, Veronika D?dusenko received the winner’s crown and the title "Miss Ukraine 2018". However, on September 24, the Organizing Committee of the National Beauty Pageant "Miss Ukraine" issued a statement that Veronika Didusenko was stripped of the title "Miss Ukraine". The official reason for this decision is the violation of the rules of the National Beauty Pageant. According to the rules, participants who are married and have a child are not allowed to participate in the competition. In addition, the statement claims that the same participation requirements are contained in the unified rules and conditions of the Miss World 2018 pageant. While it’s true that Veronika Didusenko reported false information, she did so to draw attention to the discriminatory practices, ones that correspond only to the time and the standards of the era when they were created. Unlike in 1951, in the 21st century it is unacceptable to discriminate against women, particularly on the basis of motherhood. With such a requirement, the organizers of the competition force women to choose not to give birth or to get an abortion for the sake of their dreams and career aspirations. To understand the scale, there are 15,000 young women participating in this year's competition in Ukraine alone, as well as a million young women participating in beauty pageants all over the world.

A post shared by Veronika Didusenko (@veronika_didusenko) on Sep 27, 2018 at 10:29am PDT

Didusenko also took to Instagram to post an alleged statement from one of the Miss Ukraine judges, which states, "She gave birth when she was 19 and then divorced. I think it is wrong to position such a person as a role model for others to follow." In the caption, she commented that this is the type of prejudice she's confronted with everyday.

Still, the pageant isn't backing down either. A new Miss Ukraine 2018 will be selected from her fellow contestants, although officials have yet to decide who will take the title.

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