‘Proud Catholic Arab’ is first to win first ever Israeli transgender beauty pageant
An self-described ‘Catholic Arab’ has won the first ever Miss Trans Star pageant in Israel.
The 21-year-old winner of the pageant, Ta’alin Abu Hanna, is from Nazareth, and wore a white bridal gown when she was crowned the competition’s winner.
She described the victory as “historic”, and said she thinks that the competition promotes equality and inclusion.
Hanna will now represent Israel at the miss trans Star International pageant this August in Spain.
This year will be the first time that Israel has taken part in the international competition.
Hanna, as the winner of the Israeli pageant, will receive $15,000 in plastic surgery treatments in a Thai hospital, as well as flights and accommodation for the surgery and recovery.
Speaking after the competition, Hanna said she is “proud to be an Israeli Arab”.
She added: “If I had not been in Israel and had been elsewhere — in Palestine or in any other Arab country — I might have been oppressed or I might have been in prison or murdered.”
the pageant, organised by Israela Stephanie Lev.
Lev said living as a trans woman in Israel had been “terrible” in the past, but that now things were improving.
Campaigners earlier this year criticised a transgender beauty pageant which offers the winner gender reassignment surgery.
The Miss Gay and Ms Transsexual Australia 2016 pageant was branded “irresponsible” by campaigners.
A finalist in the Miss Galaxy beauty pageant contest also in January spoke out – to claim she was disqualified for being trans.
29-year-old Jossy Yendall says she was elated to find out that she had made it through to the final of the UK competition.
However, she told ITV she was shocked to be told by organisers that she had been dropped from the contest because she’s not ‘biologically’ female.
The winner of the Miss Transgender UK pageant was last month stripped of her crown for not being “full-time” transgender, the organiser has claimed.
The pageant launched for the first time last year – but attracted controversy for offering all-expenses-paid gender reassignment surgery in India as a ‘prize’.
Scottish trans woman Jai Dara Latto was initially named the winner of the contest – but organiser Rachael Bailey hit out at her this week, amid coverage of Ms Latto going on a charity hike.
Check out a video from the Times of Israel, below:
