There she is, Miss Landmine Survivor

Women who survived landmines in Angola will soon be taking part in a new beauty contest, Miss Landmine Survivor, not to be confused with the contest in Zimbabwe: Land-is-mine Survivor. The Angolan contest already has a major edge over Miss Universe: Donald Trump won't be present. 

The pageant has been organised by Angola's de-mining commission, and aims to restore the confidence of victims and raise awareness of their plight.

Millions of mines were planted in Angola during a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002.

The "Miss Landmine Survivor" contest will be held on 2 April in a luxury hotel in the Angolan capital, Luanda.

Eighteen women will take part, one from every province in the country.

All of the contestants have been maimed by landmines. [Link]

A contest in which you're expected to be missing a limb? Sure beats a contest in which you're expected to be missing a brain.

Actually, you can compete for Miss Landmine Survivor without missing an entire limb. And you can compete for Miss Universe without missing an entire brain.

It's really a myth that beauty contestants are dumb. Many of them are quite intelligent. And I say that not because I've studied their IQs or something, but because I don't want to get an ass-kicking from my cousin Rani Jeyaraj, a former Miss India. My very very smart cousin (who was born in Zambia).

The co-ordinator of Angola's de-mining commission, Madalena Neto, says the aim of the competition is to restore self-esteem in women injured in mine explosions, and to show that there is beauty in all people. [Link]

Yes, there's beauty in all people -- and it's not always on the outside. Sometimes you have to search a little deeper. And if you're wise enough to do the searching, you'll be rewarded far greater than those who don't.