KATHMANDU, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - A contest to choose the next 'Miss Nepal' slated for Thursday was cancelled after Maoist female lawmakers denounced the beauty pageant.

The former rebels emerged as the single largest party in the country's newly elected assembly and are poised to form the next government.

'We won't let the event take place. We don't need such a thing in the new federal democratic republic of Nepal where women are treated as objects of entertainment,' Maoist lawmaker Amrita Thapa told AFP Wednesday.

She said the Maoists would not allow an 'anti-women' event inspired by 'capitalist' elements.

'Such contests send the wrong message to society as they emphasise physical beauty rather than intellectual ability,' said another female Maoist leader.

Girendra Man Rajbanshi, the contest organiser, said: 'We had to cancel our programme at the last minute.'

He said they would try to change the activists' minds and stage the contest later.

The winner of the pageant gets the chance to represent Nepal at the annual Miss World contest, the organiser said.