Crowned Miss Germany on February 24, Apameh Schönauer, 39, became in a few hours the target of hateful and racist comments on social networks.
This mother of two children, an architect by profession, breaks the usual beauty clichés of miss competitions.
Arriving in Germany at the age of 6, Apameh, of Iranian origin and founder of Shirzan, a network for oppressed women, in fact embodies the face of a major reform of the Miss competition in Germany dating from 2019, the criteria of which are now focused less about looks and beauty and more about personality and commitment.
The misses no longer win a crown, but a simple sash.
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A change that is not yet to everyone's taste.
And this earned Apameh a wave of comments on social networks that were racist, misogynistic and sexist, accompanied by questionable photomontages that display former misses with Barbie looks next to Apameh's face.
A relentlessness which unfortunately recalls that experienced by Miss Japan 2024. Karolina Shiino, originally from Ukraine, faced online harassment and racism a few weeks ago because of her Caucasian appearance.