Hiam Amani Hafizuddin
Hiam Amani Hafizuddin | |
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Born | Chicago, Illinois, United States of America |
Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign |
Title | Founder of Miss Bangladesh US Organization |
Hiam 'Amani' Hafizuddin is an American-born beauty queen, entrepreneur and founder of Miss Bangladesh US Organization (formerly Miss Bangladesh USA). She founded Miss Bangladesh US at the age of eighteen and later became a national director for Asia's oldest and largest beauty pageant— Miss Asia Pacific International at the age of nineteen.
Pageants
Miss Bangladesh US Organization
While in her first semester of her freshman year of college, Hafizuddin founded the Miss Bangladesh US pageant.
She was inspired by the essence of pageantry—inspiring feminine empowerment and advocating for social justice. At the time, Bangladesh not having any pageants in place for women of that background, she decided to become the pioneer of pageantry for this demographic by creating Miss Bangladesh USA which later became renamed Miss Bangladesh US Organization.
In 2023, she led a rebrand of Miss Bangladesh US Organization into a pageant and talent management organization. Through this, she, alongside various female leaders from noteworthy industries, conducts learning and development workshops aimed at equipping Bangladeshi women with the skills and resources needed to succeed in their aspirations beyond pageantry, including corporate and educational pursuits.
Miss Asia Pacific International
Hiam is the official National Director of Bangladesh for Miss Asia Pacific International. In 2016, at the age of 19, she became the youngest national director, marking Bangladesh's debut in the competition. This was also the first time in many years that Bangladesh participated in an international pageant. In 2018, her candidate Marjana Chowdhury placed in the top 20, achieving Bangladesh's highest placement in international pageantry to date.
America's Miss World 2016
In July 2016, Hiam competed in the Miss World America competition. She gained significant international media recognition leading up to the competition for being the first woman of Bangladeshi descent to be competing in the pageant. Following, she contributed to the reinstatement of Miss World Bangladesh to allow women of Bangladesh to participate in the international pageant: Miss World for the first time in seventeen years.
Hiam was featured on various international media platforms for her involvement in promoting her Beauty with a Purpose project: Unity through Diversity. Her video was featured on NBC News and NBC Asian America honoring her dedication to promote inclusivity and recognition for Asian America people.
Miss Grand International International
In 2021 and 2022 Hiam served as the official National Director of Bangladesh and Pakistan for Miss Grand International. Through her licensee of the franchise, she facilitated Bangladesh's debut participation in 2021 with the appointment of Marjana Chowdhury as the first Miss Grand Bangladesh.
Miss Face of Beauty International
As of 2023, Hiam is the official National Director of Bangladesh for Face of Beauty International.
Miss Supranational
Hiam is the official National Director of Bangladesh for Miss Supranational. Under her leadership, Bangladesh is set to make its debut at Miss Supranational 2024, marking a significant milestone in the country's participation in international pageantry.
References
- "'These Kids Are More Alike': Miss World America Finalist Campaigns for Cultural Competency". NBC News.
- "Midday Fix: Miss World America pageant contestant Hiam Hafizuddin". 4 July 2016.
- "Meet Hiam Hafizuddin, the Bangladeshi American Who's a Finalist for Miss World America 2016 | the Aerogram".
- @MissBdeshUS (18 June 2016). "Featured in this week's @WeeklyBangalee (the most widely read Bangla paper) @HiamAmani about #MissWorldAmerica!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Hiam Hafizuddin. YouTube.
- "Bangladeshi student wants more than Miss World crown". 5 July 2016.
- "Nazida Syed: Starting over, Fighting for Change – Mala".
- "The Voice » Maintenance Mode".
- "Strategy Competition - Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society". Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- "'মিস ওয়ার্ল্ড আমেরিকার' চূড়ান্ত পর্বে বাংলাদেশি বংশোদ্ভূত হিয়াম". 19 June 2016.
- "Miss Bangladesh USA".