Baghdad: Shaymaa Qasim Abdelrahman was crowned Miss Iraq in a beauty contest held in Baghdad on Saturday, an event held in the war torn country after a period of 43 years.
Her participation was widely hailed as a trigger that can bring hopes for social change and greater openness in Iraq's highly conservative society.
But 20 year old's victory has drawn the ire of terror outfit Islamic State.
Reports have emerged that Qasim has received a chilling phonecall warning her that she would be abducted if she did not join ISIS.
According to the Jerusalem Post, which cited Kuwaiti daily al-Watan, the student was told to join the caliphate or face being kidnapped.
Reports also claim that the threat has left the 20 year old distressed but she refuses to cower down.
The beauty queen said she was determined to 'continue forward despite any obstacles'.
Abdulrahman's family has been affected personally by the violence: Two of her cousins were killed fighting ISIS, according to NBC.
She told NBC News on Saturday: 'I want to prove that the Iraqi woman has her own existence in society, she has her rights like men. I am afraid of nothing, because I am confident that what I am doing is not wrong.'
Qasim told AFP after her victory: 'I'm very happy to see Iraq going forward. This event was huge and put a smile on the faces of the Iraqis.'
More than 150 women applied for Miss Iraq pageant, which organizers said was a chance to “create life in Iraq” and “revive our country” after years of bloodshed and internal chaos.
Organizers of Miss Iraq event were forced to delay the televised event by two months because of the threats and removed the swimsuit portion, keeping with the standards of the conservative Muslim country, replacing it with a more covered outfit.
The 20-year-old girl has shown courage when she dared to enter the Baghdad competition even as two other competitors pulled out upon receiving death threats earlier this year.
