Dawn Images

The Miss Universe pageant in Thailand is going ahead at full steam, with the National Costume Show being held on Wednesday. While there was no shortage of creative and over-the-top dresses on the stage, Palestine’s Nadeen Ayoub chose something closer to home.

She wore an ivory gown by Palestinian designer Naveen Elkady that “carried generations within it” with its traditional design elements and references to the country’s history. The colour of the gown represented purity while the green and gold embroidery that ran across the neckline, hem and shoulder straps represented Palestinian villages, according to the contestant.

Ayoub paired the dress with a hand-painted cape adorned with images of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — two of the holiest sites in Islam and Christianity respectively, both located in Jerusalem — as a symbol of the harmony that exists between Palestine’s Muslims and Christians.

The cape also carried images of olive branches and a key, both powerful symbols of Palestinian resistance following the Nakba — a campaign of forced displacement of Palestinians after Israel’s victory in the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948. The branches represent Palestine’s economic resilience, where olives have been grown for centuries.

The key represents the hope held by many Palestinians for an eventual return to their motherland, with many Nakba survivors holding onto the keys of the homes they were forced out of, passing them on to subsequent generations.

The embroidery on Ayoub’s dress was traditional tatreez, a style native to Palestinian villages that became a cultural symbol during the first intifada. The colours of the borders are also a nod to Palestine’s famous olives, according to Jordanian Roya News.

Ayoub’s headpiece, which she referred to as a crown, was inspired by the traditional shatweh, a coin-adorned headdress worn by Palestinian brides. Her earrings were modelled after the star of Bethlehem, a tatreez motif originating in the ancient city.

The contestant said wearing the ensemble on the Miss Universe stage was “one of the most meaningful moments of my life”. She said this “wasn’t just a dress,” but “my heritage, my voice and my heart”.