Who Is Erica Robin? Meet The First-Ever Miss Universe Pakistan
Erica Robin will now represent Pakistan at the 72nd Global Miss Universe Pageant which will be held in El Salvador in November 2023.
New Delhi: For the first time in history, Pakistan will have a representative at the Miss Universe beauty pageant. 24-year-old Erica Robin, who has been crowned the first-ever 'Miss Universe Pakistan' on Thursday in the Maldives, competed for the title against Hira Inam, 24, from Lahore, Jessica Wilson, 28 [Rawalpindi], Malyka Alvi, 19 [originally from Pakistan but representing Pennsylvania] and Sabrina Wasim, 26, from Punjab.
Erica Robin will now represent Pakistan at the 72nd Global Miss Universe Pageant which will be held in El Salvador in November 2023. Sharing what this means to her, she wrote a small note to express her thoughts.
"I am honored and humbled to be the first ever Miss Universe Pakistan and I want to highlight the beauty of Pakistan. We have a beautiful culture that the media is not talking about. Pakistani people are very generous, kind and hospitable. On top of that, I would like to invite everyone to visit my country and try the most sumptuous Pakistani cuisines and explore our enchanting nature, our snow-capped mountains, our greeneries and our progressive landscapes," wrote Erica, the new Miss Universe Pakistan 2022
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Who Is Erica Robin?
Born on September 14, 1999, Erica Robin comes from a Christian family in Karachi, Pakistan. She did her schooling from St. Patrick's Girls High School and then went to Government College of Commerce and Business Administration in Chandigarh. She started her professional modelling career in January 2020 and appeared in the July 2020 issue of DIVA Magazine Pakistan. After that, there was no looking back for her. From multiple shoots to fashion shows- Erica modelled for Pakistani fashion brands like Khaadi, Zara Shahjahan, Sania Maskatiya, Elan, and Sana Safinaz. But, that was not all. Despite being a model, Erica joined Flow Digital, an IT consulting firm in Karachi, as an Assistant Manager in August 2020.
Controversy Related To Pakistan Participating In Miss Universe 2023:
Pakistan's administration, clearly annoyed, is investigating how this happened, with Prime Minister Anwaar-Ul-Haq Kakar directing the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to investigate who is arranging the beauty contest and using Pakistan’s name to participate in the Miss Universe beauty pageant.
According to The News, a Pakistani daily, The IB submitted the report as instructed which stated, "The rights/license to represent Pakistan for the contest of 2023 have been obtained by one Yugen Publishing and Marketing — a business group based in Dubai. The business group has created a website (houseofyugen.com) seeking applications from Pakistani women (aged 24-28, irrespective of their marital status) from 04.03.2023 onwards. The Dubai-based Yugen Group also has franchise rights for Miss Universe Bahrain and Miss Universe Egypt."
The report further said, "In Dubai, [the] Yugen Group is sponsoring the event and one Josh Yugen is learnt to be national director of Miss Universe Pakistan. [The] Yugen Group has also partnered with voting app ‘Choicely’ to give pageant fans a chance to vote for their favorite candidates. Voting lasted till 7pm on Wednesday (13.09.2023). The winner will represent Pakistan at the Miss Universe pageant [that is participated in by] more than 60 countries, in a month-long event which will culminate in [a] grand finale to be held in El Salvador on 18.11.2023 when the current title holder from US, R’Bonney Gabriel, will pass on her crown to the winner."
As per the Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) website, 'national directors' are business entities/companies that apply to the MUO for franchises for a specific country. After meeting certain MUO requirements, any business group can apply for a franchise licence for a nominal fee of around $1,000 US. However, these licensees do not need permission from the government of that country and only need to bring nationals from that country to the competition.
Murtaza Solangi, Caretaker Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, took to X (previously Twitter) Wednesday and wrote, "the government and state of Pakistan are represented by state and government institutions. No non-state or non-governmental individual or institution has been designated by our government for any such activity, and no such person/institution can represent the state/government. (As per English translation)"
حکومتِ اور ریاستِ پاکستان کی نمائندگی ریاست اور حکومت کے ادارے کرتے ہیں۔ ہماری حکومت نے کسی غیر ریاستی اور غیر حکومتی فرد یا ادارے کو ایسی کسی سرگرمی کیلیے نامزد کیا ہے اور نہ کوئی ایسا شخص/ادارہ ریاست/حکومت کی نمائندگی کر سکتا ہے۔
— Murtaza Solangi (@murtazasolangi) September 13, 2023
ختم شد۔ https://t.co/rW5XGi2bV1
In addition, religious scholar Mufti Taki Usmani also wrote, "There is news that five young ladies will represent Pakistan in the international beauty pageant. If this is true, how far will we go? Let the impression disappear (as per English translation)
جنگ کی خبر ہے کہ پانچ دوشیزائیں عالمی مقابلہ حسن میں پاکستان کی”نمائندگی" كرينگی اگر یہ سچ ہے تو ہم کہاں تک نیچے کرینگے؟ حکومت اس خبر کا فوری نوٹس لیکر ذمہ داروں کے خلاف کارروائی کرے اور کم ازکم ملک کی “نمائندگی” کا تاثر زائل کرے
— Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Official) (@muftitaqiusmani) September 13, 2023
Not just that, Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, called it "shameful" and an insult to Pakistan.
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