Why are these beauty pageants so controversial? – Ozzy

Standing on stage in a swanky Ugandan hotel in front of hundreds of friends, colleagues and strangers, 22-year-old beauty pageant contestant Tamale Desire proudly announces that he is living with HIV. make it clear. “My friends asked me, ‘Are you kidding?’ But I had to tell the truth and now it’s okay, I’m free.

“There are a lot of beauty pageants in Uganda. But this one is the best because it fights stigma and discrimination. I understand.”

of Y+ Beauty Contest — Y+ stands for “Young Positives” — Founded by a local NGO in 2014 Uganda Network of Youth Living with HIV/AIDS (UNYPA). In countries with high HIV prevalence 5.2% people aged 15-49, UNYPA aims to reduce stigma and increase access to healthcare. The only criterion for entering the competition is that the contestant is HIV positive. It is believed to be the first of its kind in the world, said UNYPA Executive Director Ruth Awori.

Long ridiculed in the West for being superficial, beauty pageants are popping up all over Uganda today. With themes ranging from curvaceous to promoting tourism, these non-traditional pageants are controversial. They also draw crowds of up to 2,000, according to Brenda Nanyongjo, who took over the Miss Uganda franchise in 2011.

but, Nusuga RonnieCEO of a Kampala-based agency crystal model africahas been involved in the pageant since 2013, Most such contests state that hundreds is a more realistic figure. “Ticket prices are too high for locals to attend,” he says. “Their popularity is based on the girls who attend, and most of these pageants aren’t worth attending without a good reason.”

But Nussbuga says beauty pageants are a big deal in Uganda. “This is an opportunity for young women to represent others by coming up with good proposals that are aligned with community and social issues, and these girls will be their voices,” he said. However, he branded some Ugandans who had seen the international competition as copycats. We think we can,” says Nsubuga. “Organizers lack vision and meticulous planning. Some organizers are just making money and just wasting girls’ time.”

Uganda’s first beauty pageant, Miss Uganda, started 1967five years after Uganda’s independence from Britain, little miss uganda, Miss Grand Uganda, Miss International Uganda And even the short-lived Mr/Ms/Mx Ugandan Pride (who was raided by police in 2010) 2016) appeared. Many parts of Uganda are Rwenzori Mountains, has its own pageant. In 2006, Kampala Rujira Prison moved to action.

Eunice TessParticipated in and won multiple events Miss Earth Uganda 2017 and miss university africa 2016, the organizers agree The Ugandan event in , simply tried to recreate the overseas pageant without matching the criteria with the aesthetic qualities of Ugandan women. “Several contestants were told they couldn’t stand on the runway with short natural hair and had to have it smoothed. And I remember thinking, ‘This is how African hair looks like.’ she says.

But Tess appreciates other elements of the contest. “I learned elegance, self-confidence, etc. Before that, I had never stood in front of hundreds of people and said something serious.”

Miss Uganda is still the biggest and most famous event in the country. But in 2014 it became controversial when it partnered with the country’s military to promote agriculture as a path to employment, winning 20 finalists. milking cow On a government-run farm in addition to the usual catwalk aspect of the contest. “The crowd was unfamiliar with themed pageants and caused controversy,” explains. What is it? “But it turns out to change the way young people, especially women, view agriculture. ” Some participants continue to farm today, she added.

Today’s Miss Uganda event includes more traditional elements such as talent contests and financial literacy classes that encourage girls to start their own businesses. “Uganda is now “hosting a pageant with a purpose,” Nanyonjo added. And for the first time this year, Miss Uganda too broadcast in a reality television format that includes evictions, “confessions” and audience participation.

of Miss Kirby The pageant, which was held for the first time in 2019, was also met with backlash. It is designed to promote tourism in Uganda by drawing attention to curvaceous Ugandan women. Organizer Ahn Mungoma said the event would allow young women to show off their beautiful bodies and intelligence. Guardian story. but, Uganda Women’s Network viewed it as a problem. “This contest was aimed at exploiting the female body under the guise of promoting tourism in Uganda,” explains Executive Director Rita Her Achiro. “These are women who want to use women as sexual objects.”

However, despite reports debtMiss Kirby survived and the most recent event took place in November 2022. OZY has reached out to Mangoma for comment, but has declined to confirm that the Miss Kirby Africa pageant is ongoing. Except, she declined.

But 2022 Miss Curvy winner Shirat Nasuuna has embraced the spirit of the competition and is proud to be a part of it. “I entered the competition because I was humiliated and taken for granted for being crooked. So I expressed it to be on their face so that they could feel confident.” I’m about to start a project that will help me celebrate my own beauty.

Recently, Miss Earth Uganda received criticism. Ismail Alam A 25-year-old who won the 2021 contest. She says her hosts branded her “fat” and forced her to delete her personal online photos. The music artist and community coordinator for her project was also coerced to cover up her scars and remove Afro photos, she claims. By the way, Destiny Wagner from Belize, who won the 2021 Miss Earth World Tournament, bullied on social media of her dreadlocks.

Nanyonjo says she can’t comment on contests other than Miss Uganda, but explains: They would rather use wigs. We started encouraging young contestants to participate with natural hair.The number of girls participating with natural hair is increasing every year.

Y+ Pageant Teaching Attendees Advocacy and public speaking skills Now at the center of events It involves the controversial Ugandan pastor Martin Sempa.

Clerics say the competition is discriminatory against people who are not HIV-infected. “At the heart of it is making having the disease a celebrity,” Ssempa tells me. End AIDS by 2030, he is calling on the Ugandan AIDS Commission to scrap it. “If you get Miss HIV, you have to get Miss HIV. GonorrheaMiss syphilis, Miss Monkeypox,” says Ssempa. Legal matters are expected to reopen later this month, he added.

social justice NGOs Health, Human Rights and Development Center (CEHURD) announced in 2019 that Sempa Social media posts about the contest claim that it violates the provisions of the Ugandan Constitution.

“We are all equal. Why does he discriminate while undermining the government’s efforts to prevent, treat and defeat HIV in Uganda?” Nakibuuka, Deputy Director of Programs, CEHURD Noor Musisi said:

Meanwhile, the contest’s new Mr. Popular and Mr. Photogenic winners, Y+’s second runner-up, Desire, is a staunch supporter. Desire, who works for Young People and Adolescent Peer Support, a Ugandan government program aimed at eradicating HIV among young people, will use his new platform to host a marathon for people affected by HIV/AIDS. , wants to launch his YouTube channel which is educational. “The Y+ pageant will go a long way in stopping the discrimination that helps spread the virus but he is one,” he says.

Beauty pageants look set to stay in the country as Nsubuga’s new Miss Culture Uganda contest takes place in March, attracting entrants from 64 regions of the country.

“Many countries sell tourism, oil, cities and beaches,” he says. “His one of the very unique things Uganda has is our culture. It can’t be taken away from us.”