It’s probably not the way many—or any—little girls dream of one day getting that crown’n’sash, but the Women’s Prison of Brisillia just held its annual pageant and crowned Raira Passion as Miss Penitentiary. Almost 100 inmates entered the event and 12 were chosen as finalists by a modeling agency. They worked the runway under the watchful eye of armed guards. The Daily Mail reported on the story and included pics, not just of the winner but of the audience of female inmates, some of them holding infants.

The Mail says the pageants are becoming more popular in countries around the world and, indeed, AOL News’ Matthew Hall wrote about a few of them, including one in Siberia where the winner was awarded early release. He also notes the Brazilian jail system is better known for its “ugly brutality,” and includes the story of one recent reported case of a “15-year-old girl (who) was held for a month in a cell with 20 adult men and subjected to rape and torture.”

Suddenly it doesn’t seem like a little makeup is going to be all that much of a fix.