Mystery Contestant at Miss World Pageant

A young woman competing in the Miss World pageant this month has stirred up questions as to exactly how she got there.

18-year-old Rakhima Ganieva is officially entered as Miss Uzbekistan, even though the Muslim country does not hold a national competition.

In an introductory video on the Miss World website, Ganieva says she is from ‘sunny Tashkent’ and is studying at the University of International Diplomacy and Economy. She claims to have won the title of “Miss Uzbekistan 2013” on July 20th.

Officials in the central Asian country, however, told the Telegraph that they have never heard of Ganieva and say there has never been a Miss Uzbekistan pageant. To further add to the mystery, no modeling agencies have heard of her.

The Miss World contestants arrived in Bali, Indonesia at the first of the month to prepare for the final competition on September 28th.  Ganieva is still wearing the Miss Uzbekistan sash, and posing for pictures with pageant winners from all around the world.

She is scheduled to participate in the preliminary talent competition today, where she’ll apparently be doing a song and dance routine.