Inside the beauty pageant in one of the world's worst places to be a woman | BBC News

Somalia is one of the hardest places in the world to be a woman, according to the UN’s gender inequality index.

More than half of women there have experienced gender-based violence.

But in 2021 a beauty pageant was launched and brought to the county’s capital Mogadishu - it’s where many Somalis head to escape war and drought.

There are many in Somalia who oppose the idea of the contest, but this year's winner, Aisha Ikow, has said she wants to use her victory to fight against early marriage and to promote girls' education.