Your trusted source

The first “Miss Turkey” title went to Araksi Çetinyan of Armenian descent, in 1925 at a contest in Istanbul’s iconic Beyoğlu Emek theater, Turkish Hurriyet Daily News says. Thus, the Armenian girl not only won the title but also came to break the stereotype with the general public thinking it immoral to hold events showcasing women so openly.

While rarely viewed as a triumph for gender equality in today’s world, the contests of the 1920s and 1930s were devoid of the catwalks and bikinis of contemporary Miss World pageants, researcher Feza Kürkçüoğlu, who is currently conducting a study on the subject, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.

“Despite the establishment of the Turkish Republic, the approach based on seeing everyone as an Ottoman subject was maintained. It was not her Armenian identity but her Ottoman identity that was more important. That’s why there was no problem in giving Çetinyan the right to represent Turkey,” said Kürkçüoğlu.