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Women in swimsuits are common at home: Artika
In cropped jeans, a green T-shirt and white sports jacket, Artika Sari Devi looks relatively conservative, standing in a room full of fellow Miss Universe contestants dressed to show off every curve and slender limb.
In cropped jeans, a green T-shirt and white sports jacket, Artika Sari Devi looks relatively conservative, standing in a room full of fellow Miss Universe contestants dressed to show off every curve and slender limb.
But the 25-year-old, doe-eyed Miss Indonesia is facing criticism at home that she will bare too much when she parades before judges at the event's swimsuit competition.
The criticism comes mostly from "Indonesian people on the Muslim right," she said in an interview on Friday.
"They think that it's not good to show (ourselves) when we are wearing swimsuits to the public, but actually you can see it everywhere (in Indonesia) _ at the swimming pool, on the beach," said Artika, who will wear a one-piece swimsuit for the contest in which a number of contestants will sport bikinis. Islamic conservative religious leaders and government officials in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, say women in swimsuits are offensive and violate religious tenets requiring them to dress modestly.
Artika was born and raised on Indonesia's Belitung Island, 500 kilometers (310 miles) northwest of Jakarta, and always wore a swimsuit, playing water sports and swimming on its beaches. Her parents and family support her fully in her race for the Miss Universe crown.
"What can I say? I've seen at swimming pools in Indonesia, many people are wearing swimming suits," she said.
The photo shoots in the weeks leading to the May 31 pageant were the first time she has ever worn a swimsuit in front of a camera, she said. She was afraid at first, but then became accustomed to it. "Please do not see only the swimsuit competition because this is only a little part of the competition," she said. "They're looking for three B's: brains, behavior and beauty."
