13/03/2024
Hello,
My name is Veronika Didusenko. I lead the global initiative, which is fighting against the discrimination of mothers in the beauty pageant industry, and the ‘big four’ global contests: Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth.
As a student of the MPA program at the School of International and Public Affairs Columbia | SIPA, I am delighted to visit Columbia Global Centers l Mumbai and to welcome my colleagues there.
On March 9th in Mumbai, the final of Miss World took place. This is not a mere coincidence. Exactly two years ago, in March 2022, in Los Angeles, esteemed US attorney, Gloria Allred, and I planned to host a joint press conference, dedicated to our fight against discrimination. Instead of one, we held two press conferences, and on March 8, 2022, I spoke about the events in Ukraine.
I traveled to Los Angeles from besieged Kyiv. Our car was stuck in an endless traffic jam on the highway leading to the Ukrainian western border. Above my and my son’s heads, our legendary defenders of the Ukrainian sky were shooting down Russian attack helicopters that were trying to land troops at the Hostomel airport.
I am endlessly grateful to Gloria Allred for sharing her invaluable experience, and for her inexhaustible energy that has fueled me more than once. It is thanks to Gloria and my colleague, and fellow ambassador of the global initiative Andrea Quiroga, that our campaign could not be stopped - neither by Putin nor by the legal teams of our opponents.
The result of our joint efforts was our first major victory. After five months, the first of the Big Four beauty pageants, Miss Universe, lifted the entry restrictions for young mothers.
But my story began much earlier. In 2018, when I was stripped of the Miss Ukraine World title because I had a young son.
I were then turned into objects of public humiliation. One of the Miss World - Ukraine jury members, Bohdan Yusypchuk, pointed at me live on air and said: "She had a child at 19 and is divorced. I believe it's wrong to make such a person a role model."
My initial reaction back then was simply to run away from this shame; to hide, forget, and start
my life again from scratch. And If I were alone, I might have done just that. But these
accusations dishonored not only me but also tens of thousands of women who faced
discrimination by the outdated rules.
Can you believe that the opportunity to forge a professional career in the beauty pageant industry today is STILL denied to r**e victims who have given birth. To girls forced into marriage at an early age – a shameful practice still preserved in dozens of countries around the world. And to women whose children have died during pregnancy, childbirth, or in infancy.
Due to these discriminatory rules introduced more than 70 years ago, young women in the 21st century are still deprived of their pride in motherhood. Countries that created artificial intelligence technology, have explored space for over half a century, are still measuring a woman's value by her virginity!
Over the years, I have been able to gather a team of real professionals to support my fight. I want
to express my gratitude to the co-founder and one of the directors of our global initiative Gene
without whom would never happen, also to our communication and media
relations directors, Daria and Rosie as well as our legal team both in the UK and Ukraine Ravi
Naik and Asters, and of course Gloria in the United States. There are many more members of the
team who worked very hard throughout all those years, thank you all very much.
It has been a long journey. I visited many countries to speak about initiative. I
held solo pickets in front of the Miss World office in London. I repeatedly addressed the leaders
of the Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss Earth, and Miss International beauty pageants both
publicly and privately.
I sought support from opinion leaders, from Brigitte Macron to Michelle Obama. I gave
hundreds of interviews to TV channels, radio stations, online and print publications around the
world. I spoke at universities and public events. I collected tens of thousands of signatures from
women and men from more than 130 countries around the world who supported my petition
standing for the rights of women.
I have also registered a non-governmental organization Right To Be A Mother to represent all
women who are facing the same struggle in the beauty pageant industry that I did.
Four years of fighting – should that be enough of a reason for us to give up? Maybe. But during
this time, I learned something important – if you want to win, never stop in the face of adversity.
Keep looking for new allies, friends and partnerships.
Everything changed in 2022, when we met with Andrea Quiroga – a young mother, like me, she
was denied participation in the Miss California pageant. Together with the legendary women's
rights defender Gloria Allred based on the Unruh Civil Rights Act, we approached the California
Department of Fair Employment and Housing to file a complaint and conduct an investigation to
eliminate discriminatory practices against women.
On March 9, 2022, we held a press conference announcing the beginning of our legal challenge.
And in August 2022, the first of the "Big Four" beauty pageants, Miss Universe, which includes
Miss California and Miss USA pageants, removed its discriminatory requirement for
participants.
We congratulate the owners of the Miss Universe contest, the first to dare to make such a
daunting step from the past into the future, and truly becoming a pageant for the 21st century.
One that acknowledges the status of mothers in modern society. Now it's the turn of the others –
Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth. Who will do this next?
Of course, I would very much like it to be the Miss World contest. Six years ago they took my
crown – but they could not trample my pride.
In the 73 years since the first Miss World contest, society has changed beyond recognition. And
the rules written in 1951 have turned into an ugly anachronism. Just as once a black girl was
crowned the world's first beauty, today it's time for young mothers. Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth must accept that it is time to move forward. That the world has changed. Otherwise, they risk to becoming of page of history forever turned.
I want to end my post on a the very important and very personal note to me, I dedicate my fight to the best part of me, my wonderful son Alexander. And through him, to all Ukrainian children – and the 2 million Ukrainian children who have become refugees due to Russian aggression.
Hundreds of Ukrainian children have been killed by Russian shells, missiles, and drones. Only
recently, a Russian drone strike on an apartment building in Odesa killed five children – two
infants of 4 and 8 months, as well as children of 3, 8, and 9 years old.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian children are kidnapped by Russian occupiers. For this crime, the
International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for the war criminal, tyrant and dictator
Vladimir Putin.
Our children are the key to the future of humanity. We cannot afford to lose them or this fight.
