Nadeen Ayoub, the first Palestinian to compete in Miss Universe, will step onto the stage at the height of one of the most harrowing periods in her people's history, determined to show they are more than headlines of war.

"We're more than our struggle and pain," she told AFP in Dubai, where she is preparing to raise the Palestinian flag at the pageant in Thailand in November.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.