:Shelly Gupta Maheswari: Pageants for married women gives them an identity

Shelly Gupta Maheswari, who represented India as Mrs. Asia Pacific and was crowned third Princess Universal Elegance at the Mrs. Universal 2017

Shelly Gupta Maheswari, who represented India as Mrs. Asia Pacific and was crowned third Princess Universal Elegance at the Mrs. Universal 2017, says pageants for married women in India are a good platform, but a lot more needs to be done. "Pageants for married women in India provide strong platform to married women and give them an identity, but still many things need to be incorporated in an organised way to make women feel confident to showcase their personality and potential," Maheswari told IANS.

"A beauty pageant is a celebration of beauty. Beauty pageants give women an opportunity to showcase their personalities not only on a domestic platform, but also globally," she added. At the moment, Maheswari says she wants to spend time with children below the age of 11 and "explain to them the meaning of gender and the need to fight gender bias".

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