Hello from Los Angeles!☀️

I'm Rehana! Nice to meet you! 

Born in Tripoli, Libya and raised in Japan and Southern California, I've spent my whole life and career telling stories that reflect the people who are usually left out of both the stage and screen. Arab women. Mixed-identity women. Immigrant women. 

So when I applied to the 2026 Season of Miss Arab USA on a total whim and found out I am one of the top 20 finalists, I freaked out! and said "okay, let's do this."

Why this means so much to me

My Libyan father passed away in 2019 and being part of this pageant is my way of reconnecting with the Libyan and Arab American community and redefining what it means to be a mixed Libyan immigrant woman in the United States. I know that this experience will be a deeply healing yet transformative journey, not just for me but for my family and Ancestors.

Additionally, there has never been a Libyan titleholder of Miss Arab USA. You can probably tell that there is no prominent Libyan figure in American media at all. I want to change this. I want to compete in this pageant as encouragement for young Libyan women to take up space in every room they enter, no matter how big or small. 

I have dedicated my life to being a cultural worker and an artivist (artist & activist) in the media and entertainment industry. My purpose and passion is to create my own self-representation. In June of 2024, I graduated from the University of California, Irvine with double degrees in Film & Media and Asian/Arab American Studies to train in the craft of storytelling. 

My career now spans narrative and documentary filmmaking, editorial magazine, podcast and oral history production, digital archives, and museum research — including archival work rooted in Washington, D.C. I have collaborated with the Smithsonian American History Museum, California State Parks, UCLA, Visual Communications, Her Campus Media, and numerous Asian American and Pacific Islander nonprofit organizations.

A beauty pageant is all new territory for me yet I’m beyond thrilled for this once in a lifetime experience. Through this visibility and platform, I am excited to amplify my continued work of uplifting women through intentional presence, artistic expression, community building, and feminist advocacy. Miss Arab USA is the biggest stage I've stepped onto as a storyteller and artist. I can't wait to show you who I am and the communities I come from. 

Here's how the fundraising works

To be eligible to win the title of Miss Arab USA, each finalist is required to fundraise $1,000 for the Arab American Organization (AAO). If I win Miss Arab USA, the prize is a $10,000 cash award which I plan to put toward graduate school and my ongoing community-based storytelling projects.

Pageant Queens spend the year after the show championing a cause. Mine is one I know from the inside out. 

Raised by a single mother, I understand the reality of underfunded school districts and the lack of access to resources for low income students. I want to use my platform to uplift teenage girls, who are navigating poverty, immigration barriers, foster care, and incarceration, to build a long-term, reliable support system. I envision creating educational programs I wished I had access to such as 1-1 mentorship, holistic and feminine wellness, professional development, financial literacy, and college or post graduate preparation. 

Where your money goes

Every single dollar raised goes directly to the Arab American Organization (AAO), a nonprofit that works to empower the Arab American community by documenting and celebrating its history, culture, and contributions while providing essential services. They focus on promoting civil rights by offering support through discrimination cases, community education workshops, and proactive advocacy to address systemic issues and improve policies.

This is also 100% tax deductible, and I will personally share receipts so you can see exactly where your donation lands. Full transparency, always. That's a promise.

Thank you for your support!

If you would like to follow my pageant journey throughout the next few weeks, I invite you to follow my Instagram @rehanamorita for daily updates and exciting news.

Whether you donate, share this fundraiser with a friend, or just express kind words, it all fuels me to keep going. Let's make history together!

With so much love,

Rehana Morita

Finalist for Miss Arab USA 2026