First transgender woman reaches finals of Singapore beauty pageant

Miss Universe Singapore has become the first transgender woman to advance to the finals. According to a report by the Straits Times on the 29th of last month, this year's Miss Universe
Fifteen contestants advanced to the finals at the Miss Universe Singapore (MUS) competition. Originally, only unmarried women between the ages of 18 and 28 were eligible to participate in the contest, but from this year, age and marital status were no longer a factor.
- Unmarried people are no longer an issue. In response to this, this year a diverse range of women participated in the competition, including a 65-year-old female participant and a married woman raising children. Since 2012, transgenders have been allowed to participate in the competition.
Among them, the person who became a hot topic was Katricia Zailia (33), the first married transgender woman in the 70-year history of the tournament. Zailia, who is 180 cm tall, married in 2013.
She was the runner-up in the Miss International Queen pageant held in Pattaya, Thailand. Zairia underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2017 and married a man. She said, "I started wearing my military uniform at the age of 20.
"I met my husband while working there," she said, "and he was with me throughout my transition from man to woman."
"MUS is about my life, my struggles, my failures, my fears, my discrimination," Zairiah said.
"It's a great opportunity for me to share my story of competing with other athletes and how I'm achieving my dream of becoming a successful transgender woman," she said.
How great would it be to be the first transgender woman to represent Japan?" she added.