Miss Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos, Crowned Miss World 2011 Amidst the Protests by Feminist Activists

LONDON – Miss Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos, has been crowned the 2011 winner of the Miss World beauty pageant at a sparkling final ceremony in London.

Miss Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos, Crowned Miss World 2011

"Still here, still angry", more than 200 female activists of Million Women Rise chanted outside Earl's Court in west London yesterday; exactly at the same time when inside the hall  Ivian Sarcos was being crowned as 61^st Miss World.

Sabrina Qureshi, the founder of Million Women Rise, said that, far from harmless fun, beauty pageants were a symbol of a society that belittle women in a way that leads to aggression such as the murder of Joanna Yeates.

"We have read that the murderer of Joanna Yeates was using pornography which contained images very similar to how he murdered Joanna," said Ms Qureshi.

More than 40 years back, in 1970, members of a feminist activist group burn their under-garments in protest outside Albert Hall where the beauty pageant was going on.

The Miss World contest has not been broadcast on a major channel in Britain for a decade. But it is watched by more than a billion people worldwide and tickets to the event fetch up to £100m.

Last night; Miss Philippines Gwendoline Ruais became the 1^st runner up and Miss Puerto Rico, Amanda Perez, the 2^nd runner up. Miss Venezuela looked gorgeous in a large pink feathery gown open in the front as she was being crowned by last year’s Miss World, Alexandria Mills of USA.