Hiam Amani Hafizuddin

Hiam 'Amani' Hafizuddin is an American entrepreneur, beauty queen and founder of Miss Bangladesh US Organization (formerly Miss Bangladesh USA). She founded Miss Bangladesh US at the age of eighteen and later became a national director for Asia's oldest and largest beauty pageant— Miss Asia Pacific International at the age of nineteen.^[1]

While in her first semester of her freshman year studying business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Hafizuddin founded the Miss Bangladesh US pageant.

She was inspired by the essence of pageantry—inspiring feminine empowerment and advocating for social justice.^[2] At the time, Bangladesh not having any pageants in place for women of that background, she decided to become the pioneer of pageantry for this demographic by creating Miss Bangladesh USA, which later became renamed Miss Bangladesh US Organization.

In 2024, she led a rebrand of Miss Bangladesh US Organization into a media and talent management agency.^[3] Through this, she, alongside various female leaders from noteworthy industries, conducts learning and development workshops aimed at equipping Bangladeshi women with the skills and resources needed to succeed in their aspirations beyond pageantry, including corporate and educational pursuits.

In July 2016, Hiam competed in the Miss World America competition, representing the state of Illinois. She gained significant international media recognition leading up to the competition for being the first woman of Bangladeshi descent to participate in the United States' national pageant for Miss World. Her selection was featured in several media outlets, including NBC News^[4] and in Bangladeshi diaspora media for being the first Miss World America delegate of Bangladeshi heritage.^[5]

Following the competition, she contributed to the reinstatement of Miss World Bangladesh, allowing women of Bangladeshi origin to participate in the international Miss World pageant for the first time in seventeen years.

Hiam is the official National Director of Bangladesh for Miss Asia Pacific International. In 2016, at the age of 19, she became the franchise holder and national director, marking Bangladesh's debut in the competition. This was also the first time in many years that Bangladesh participated in a prominent international pageant. In 2018, her candidate Marjana Chowdhury placed in the top 20, achieving Bangladesh's highest placement in international pageantry till date.^[6]

In 2021 and 2022, Hiam served as the official National Director of Bangladesh and Pakistan for Miss Grand International. Through her licensee of the franchise, she facilitated Bangladesh's debut participation in 2021 with the appointment of Marjana Chowdhury as the first Miss Grand Bangladesh.^[7]

In that same year, she also marked the return of Pakistan by crowning Ramina Ashfaque as Miss Grand Pakistan 2021.

In 2022, she crowned Towhida Tusnim Tifa of Gazipur, Bangladesh as Miss Grand Bangladesh, the first Bangladeshi national to represent the country at Miss Grand International.^[8] She also crowned Aneesa Sheikh from New York to represent Pakistan.

In 2024, Hiam launched Roma Michael as Miss Grand Pakistan, making history as the first Pakistani national to represent at Miss Grand International. Roma became a viral figure for her performance at the 2024 competition held in Cambodia and Thailand.^[9]

In 2023, Hiam became the official National Director of Bangladesh for Face of Beauty International. Through an online national competition, Dr. Tasin Afrin Diana was crowned Miss Face of Beauty Bangladesh 2024 on International Women's Day.^[10]

In 2025, Hiam and the Miss Bangladesh US Organization joined forces with Bangladesh Tourism Beauty to crown Irana Ishrat as Miss Face of Beauty Bangladesh 2025.^[11]

Hiam is the official National Director of Bangladesh for Miss Supranational. Under her leadership, Bangladesh made its debut at Miss Supranational 2024, marking a significant milestone in the country's participation in international pageantry. Towhida Tusnim Tifa was crowned the first Miss Supranational Bangladesh during an official press conference and crowning ceremony held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in May 2024.^[12]