The Finnish government has been pulled into a growing racism scandal following the decision to strip Sarah Dzafce of her Miss Finland title, after a photo circulated on social media showing her making a gesture widely condemned as racist toward Chinese people, according to The Times.
Dzafce, whose father is from Kosovo and mother from Finland, was photographed on the social platform Jodel pulling the corners of her eyes with her fingers, accompanied by the caption “eating with a Chinese.” The image quickly sparked outrage and international criticism.
Although Dzafce later claimed on Instagram that the photo showed her massaging her temples to relieve a headache, the explanation was widely rejected. She was subsequently forced to apologize publicly, and the runner-up, Tara Lehtonen, was hastily crowned the new Miss Finland.
During a rapidly organized media event, Dzafce gave several interviews before being approached by a woman posing as a journalist, who asked her for a video comment. In the footage, Dzafce apologized to Asian communities, stating: “I am very sorry to all Asian people, and I would never want to mock anyone because of their ethnic background.”
The woman then pressured Dzafce to say “sorry” in Mandarin, a moment that further fueled criticism online. Miss Finland CEO Sunneva Sjögren later said the interview occurred spontaneously and emphasized that Dzafce acted “in good faith under considerable pressure.” She denied that the organization had instructed Dzafce to use Chinese or had prior knowledge of the request.
While the apology video gained limited traction on China’s WeChat, which has more than one billion monthly active users, reactions were largely negative. Comments accused Dzafce of deeply ingrained prejudice, with others questioning both her character and suitability for the title.
The scandal escalated into a political crisis when members of the far-right Finns Party, a key partner in Finland’s governing coalition, posted photos of themselves on social media making the same eye gesture. Despite backlash from other coalition parties, the Finns Party is not expected to discipline its members.
Nasima Razmyar, an opposition Social Democratic MP, condemned the behavior, calling it “disgusting.” She accused the Finns Party of exploiting racism to distract from unpopular government decisions, adding that the prime minister appears to tacitly tolerate racist conduct within the coalition.
Racism-related scandals have repeatedly plagued Finland’s right-wing government since it took office in June 2023. Within its first two months, a minister resigned after being exposed as a keynote speaker at a neo-Nazi event, while Riikka Purra, leader of the Finns Party and current Minister of Economic Affairs, was revealed to have authored anti-immigrant blog posts.
Fatim Diarra, an MP from the Green League, said the Miss Finland controversy demonstrates that racism is not marginal but increasingly visible in the actions and rhetoric of those in power.
“This is not an isolated mistake,” Diarra said. “It is part of a broader political culture in which people are judged based on origin, skin color, or ethnicity. This undermines trust in the idea that everyone in Finland is truly treated equally.”
