The sweltering heat inside the Carandiru women’s detention centre was only made worse by the dozens of hair dryers working overtime, but the 40 contestants from 10 prisons around Sao Paulo in Brazil didn’t seem to mind.
The women, serving sentences for everything from armed robbery to drug trafficking, were vying to be named Miss Penitentiary 2005 - a title that brings a 350 real ($A217) prize and a break from dreary routine.
Prison officials came up with the idea of a beauty contest last year as a way of trying to boost inmates’ self confidence.
“It helps their self esteem. It helps them feel human. It shows that they’re capable people, that independent of the crime, they are a part of society,” said Irani Torres, director of a prison in the city of Rio Claro.
The contest is more than just a beauty pageant. Judges include celebrities, soccer players and journalists and there are prizes in three other categories including writing, public speaking and congeniality.
Peru and Colombia also hold beauty contests in prisons. Sao Paulo’s is one of the largest, drawing from its female population of almost 4,000 inmates.
Complete story, here…
wanting to scream out loud, hoping that so-called “TV gurus†would hear our plead one day. This entry was posted on Friday, October 28th, 2005 at 9:02 am and is filed under Lists, Humor, India. You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 46 Responses to “The old “idiot†box…†sowmya Says: October 28th, 2005 at 12:08 pm First time here. Your post took me through a nostalgic journey down DD lane. Indeed the
Pingback by My First Publishings.... — January 9, 2006 at 7:42 am | #