Social media users have decried the government's condemnation of Maldives' first contestant of the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

Mariyam Shaina Naseem, 21, will represent Maldives at the 73rd Miss Universe pageant to be held in Mexico on November 17.

In a statement issued today, the Youth Ministry condemned her participation in the contest and said the government does not accept contests "that are not in line with the religion, beliefs and culture of the Maldives."

"The Government of Maldives will not accept the holding of activities and competitions that are not in line with the religion, beliefs and culture of the people of Maldives," it stated.

The statement was heavily criticised on social media platforms.

Meanwhile, the opposition-aligned Democrats congratulated Shaina and called on the government to provide equal opportunities for men and women.

"Giving women every opportunity that men have is not something that can be denied in this country any more," the Democrats said in a statement.

The government's statement followed criticism of Shaina by some religious scholars, including Zamzam Farish who publicly said she deserves hell.

"A contest where women parade naked should not be called Miss Universe. It should be called Miss Jahannam," former Arabiyya School teacher said in a Facebook post.

This year's Miss Universe pageant will be held in Mexico with at least 126 contestants from around the world.

Shaina has won the 2022 Top Model Maldives pageant and was also among the top 15 of the 29th World Top Model in Egypt.

Various levels of modeling competitions are being held in Maldives every year and Maldivian models have participated in competitions held abroad in the past.