Last year marked the third time that the pageant could not be held during its 15-year career.

It was stopped by the organisers themselves in 2001 as part of the national mourning after the then king Birendra and nine more members of the royal family died in a shootout in the royal palace in Kathmandu.

In 2006, political upheavals after Birendra's successor King Gyanendra was forced to step down as head of government following nationwide protests also made the organisers postpone the pageant.

Chhetri said his organisation wanted to hold the pageant in a spirit of harmony and had repeatedly asked the Maoists to spell out their real objections so that a compromise could be worked out.

However, when the women's wing refused to come to talks, saying its members were too busy, The Hidden Treasure decided to go ahead with the contest this year.

'Miss Nepal is a legal activity,' says Chhetri. 'We pay tax. Also, the women who take part are adults and we even have their parents' consent. In a democracy, you have to respect everyone's opinion.'

The reigning Miss Nepal 2007, Sitashma Chand, as well as her predecessors have been campaigning for the pageant to be allowed, saying it provided them with a platform and opened new career possibilities.