This November, as Nadeen Ayoub steps on to the Miss Universe stage alongside contestants from over 120 countries, she will do more than make history as Palestine’s first participant – she will carry the courage and spirit of her people on a global stage.
“When you have that power, you have a responsibility to speak out. And I feel a huge responsibility,” she tells The National. “Miss Universe is a huge platform, and there's a big responsibility in speaking out about what's happening in the Gaza. No one should be silent about the injustice that's happening. This is the time when Palestine needs to be represented on all platforms everywhere.”
Crowned Miss Palestine in 2022, Ayoub, 27, made history that year when she represented her country for the first time at the Miss Earth pageant, where she was one of the top five finalists. But she had to put her future plans as a title holder on hold after conflict broke out in Gaza in 2023.
“There hasn't been another Miss Palestine since 2022 because of the genocide,” she says. “After Miss Earth, I was supposed go to Miss Universe. But I postponed it because I did not want to go when genocide was happening. I wanted to focus more on staying behind the scenes because the spotlight was supposed to be on the people in Palestine who are suffering, rather than me.”
But as violence raged and the humanitarian crises in Palestine worsens, Ayoub felt compelled to use her platform and voice to raise awareness about her people's plight.
“Palestinian people's voices need to be heard, not only the women and children, but everyone,” she says. “The Palestinian woman is a beautiful woman who has a voice that is strong, that's resilient, that is powerful and that is angelic. And I want to show the world that side of Palestine.”
A certified wellness and nutrition coach with a degree in literature and psychology, Ayoub was raised between Palestine, the US and Canada by her father who's a lawyer and her mother, an educator.
She currently splits her time between her hometown of Ramallah, Amman and Dubai, where she founded Olive Green Academy, which promotes sustainability through training and awareness programmes. She also works for Sayidat Falasteen, the philanthropic and media platform of the Miss Palestine Organisation that works to uplift women by sharing their stories, supporting their businesses and showcasing their impact across Palestine and the diaspora.
“In a way, I love being an international citizen – a Palestinian international citizen,” she says. “I like to mix what I learn internationally with me being Palestinian. This combination is almost like my art.”
The long-running Miss Universe pageant is one of the most popular annual beauty competitions in the world, watched by an estimated global audience of 500 million. This year, the 74th event will be held in Pak Kret, central Thailand, with the finals on November 21.
The road to the Miss Universe has not been easy, Ayoub says.
“It's a long process … a lot of interviews, a lot of applications. This is the first time in history that Palestine is being represented, but they were not going to just accept my entry. They have a lot of requirements in order to qualify as a contestant. It took me, honestly, years to get here.”
With the support of the Miss Palestine Organisation as well as well-wishers and supporters, she says she's managed to pull together a team to help her prepare for the big stage in November.
“When we went to Miss Earth, it was almost like a one-woman show,” she says. “I didn't have a big agency behind me so I had to really work hard and prepare myself because we lack these tools in Palestine. We don't have as much opportunity as other countries, because we have other causes that need more attention.
“But we have had the most positive reactions to our announcement and people have been so amazing and supportive. I have a team in the Philippines and in Palestine and other places, and all these people want to support me, because they love Palestine. And this is the most beautiful thing about it – they are so happy that Palestine is being represented at this time.”
That huge responsibility is not lost on Ayoub who says she's going to give it her all and hopes to make a mark, from her fashion choices to the messages she will speak about on stage at multiple events.
“I will definitely be wearing designs from more than one designer in the competition, because I want to support as many Palestinian designers as possible. And I'm also using designs from international designers as well, and I think it's a great way to express my Palestinian identity and also my international identity,” she says.
“And as I've said before, we should never be silenced when there is injustice happening in the world. And we always should speak up for the people in Palestine, for the women and children that are starving right now, for people that are suffering for no fault of their own. And to be truly a queen is to talk about this. This is really my message.”
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
RESULTS
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.
India squads
T20: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur
Test: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
