Maria Al-Masani, 26, the first Yemeni-Canadian to participate in the Miss Universe Canada pageant, plans to wear a sari during the swimsuit portion of the competition. (Darren Brown, QMI Agency)

OTTAWA - When Maria Al-Masani was a little girl growing up in Yemen, she would often find herself glued to her family's TV watching beauty pageants from around the world.

"Here I was, a girl in a very conservative country, wearing a niqab and watching these beautiful women in these ball gowns walk around the stage," said Al-Masani. "How could I have thought at that time it would be me someday?"

In June, the 26-year-old public relations officer will become the first Yemeni Canadian to participate in the Miss Universe Canada pageant in Toronto.

She'll join 49 women from Ottawa and around the country to compete for a chance to represent Canada at the next Miss Universe Pageant being held in Las Vegas this fall.

Al-Masani, who came to Canada when she was 19 and settled in Ottawa, entered the Toronto-based qualifying pageant on a lark. A friend of hers was trying out a new camera and took some photos of her.

"My friends told me to send it in, but it was really just all in fun," said Al-Masani. "Then they called me and told me I'd been selected. I couldn't believe it."

Al-Masani said she is now looking forward to participating in the pageant as a way of bringing attention to her two favourite causes -- a hospital in Somalia in need of supplies and the movement toward peaceful dispute resolution around the world.

As for the pageant, she's looking forward to putting on her own ball gown and walking on stage. Her friends have been helping her get ready.

"For my talent, I'm going to do a classical Persian dance," she said. "But in the swimsuit portion, I'm going to wear a sari. For me, and for my traditions, I think that's most appropriate."

terri.saunders@sunmedia.ca