Ei Min Hlaing is a beauty pageant contestant from Tachilek, Shan State in Myanmar. During the traditional costume segment of the "2026 Miss Myanmar" pageant held at Yangon's Ayeyarwaddy Sule Hotel, she took the stage wearing an outfit resembling the robes of a Theravada Buddhist nun.
After photos and footage emerged, Ei Min Hlaing's actions stirred a nationwide uproar in Myanmar.
On Wednesday, the title she won in the competition was revoked, and beyond that, she now faces the possibility of imprisonment.
Ei Min Hlaing's look for the competition was themed around traditional ear-piercing ceremonies and the life of Buddhist nuns. However, her act of wearing nun robes and pairing them with prayer beads as she walked the runway drew widespread criticism after it went public. Many netizens and Buddhists believed that using sacred religious attire on a beauty pageant stage was a desecration and disrespect towards Buddhism.
Facing enormous social backlash, the "Miss Myanmar" organizing committee responded swiftly. Pageant director U Ma Lann Sann Nyo issued a public apology and announced the disqualification of Ei Min Hlaing, also revoking her previously awarded crown. The organizers stressed in their statement that such acts damage national dignity and hurt the religious feelings of Buddhists, who form the majority of Myanmar's population, and seriously violate the competition's rules.
Yet the controversy did not subside there. Myanmar's Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture later intervened, stating it had coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs to launch an investigation into both Ei Min Hlaing herself and the event organizers. The ministry's statement noted that the contestant appeared on stage in attire resembling bhikkhuni (nun) robes, which may have violated relevant laws, including those pertaining to religious desecration. Under Myanmar law, such actions can be punished by up to 2 years in prison.
Ei Min Hlaing explained that she meant no disrespect to Buddhism and only wanted to showcase elements of Buddhist culture, including meditation and prayer, through her outfit. She emphasized, "If this is considered inappropriate, I sincerely apologize." Nevertheless, her explanation failed to quell public indignation, and the general consensus held that religious symbols should not be used for entertainment in beauty pageants.
The competition originally included 27 contestants, but after the incident involving Ei Min Hlaing, the subsequent preliminary rounds and the grand final had to be postponed indefinitely. As one of Myanmar’s most important beauty pageant platforms, the controversy has inflicted serious damage on the event’s reputation.