Who is Kajal Libi, the Kuwait expat now a Miss Kerala finalist?

If you’re part of Kuwait’s Indian community, or you simply enjoy seeing a familiar face from here do well on a bigger stage, this is a story worth a few minutes. A software engineer who grew up in Kuwait has just won a national title back in Kerala, and her family’s roots here run deep.

Kajal Libi, who works as a software engineer, has been named second runner-up at the Miss Kerala 2026 beauty pageant. She was raised in Kuwait and completed her entire schooling here before heading to Kerala for university.

It’s the kind of achievement that quietly makes the rounds on WhatsApp groups and community pages before it reaches wider notice. For many expat families in Kuwait, it’s also a reminder that children raised far from the homeland can still carry that connection with them, and make it count.

Who is Kajal Libi?

Kajal was born into a Kerala family but grew up almost entirely in Kuwait. She finished her schooling here before returning to Kerala for higher studies, where she completed a Bachelor of Technology degree in Information Technology at the College of Engineering Perumon.

She now works as a software engineer, a career many young expats in Kuwait’s Indian community pursue after studying engineering or IT. But Kajal didn’t stop at a tech career. She has also been active in sport, dance, singing, anchoring and public speaking, taking part in various community activities and large events over the years.

That mix of interests, a stable tech job alongside creative pursuits, is something that comes up often when Kajal talks about herself. She has spoken about her interest in technology and artificial intelligence, as well as her support for women’s empowerment. Her view is simple: women should be free to explore several interests at once, embrace who they are, and chase their goals without being boxed in by old expectations.

What her Miss Kerala win actually means

Finishing as second runner-up at Miss Kerala 2026 is being described as an important milestone in Kajal’s journey. It brings together several sides of her life that don’t usually overlap: her day job in technology, her love of performance and communication, and her personal growth over the years.

For a pageant that draws contestants from across Kerala and the diaspora, placing in the top three runners-up is a notable result, especially for someone who spent most of her life outside India and built her career in a technical field rather than modelling or entertainment.

Her family’s life in Kuwait

Kajal’s father, Sreelal Lekshmanan, works with ABJ Engineering Co. in Kuwait. He is also known locally as an active member of Saradhi Kuwait, a community group.

Her mother, Libi Sreelal, runs Maraheb Style Ladies Salon in Mahboula, a neighbourhood home to a large Indian expat population. Kajal’s younger sister, Jhanvi Libi, is currently a Grade 10 student in Kuwait, continuing the family’s long connection to schools here.

It’s a family that has built its life in Kuwait over the years, much like thousands of other Indian households across Mahboula, Salmiya, Abbasiya and other areas with large Indian communities. Kajal’s win gives them, and many families like them, something to celebrate.

What this means for Kuwait’s Indian community

Kajal’s achievement isn’t really about pageants in the end. It’s about what happens when a child grows up entirely in Kuwait, goes to school here, and then takes what she learned, both academically and personally, back to where her family is from.

Kuwait’s Indian community is large and varied, and stories like this one add to a growing list of young expats making a mark, whether in engineering, medicine, sport or the arts. We’ve covered similar moments recently, including Kuwait-raised Ruth Zachariah’s runner-up finish at Miss South India UK and Kuwaiti dentist Dr Sarah Khraibet winning a US dental award. Both point to the same thing: young people with Kuwait ties doing well far beyond the country’s borders.

It also follows a busier few weeks for community achievement stories in Kuwait, including the recent TICE 2026 engineering conference and awards held in Kuwait, which drew around 1,000 delegates. For more stories like this from around the country, you can check our latest local news from Kuwait.

Quick answers