A BEAUTY pageant aimed at uplifting African women in the United Kingdom has been described by a Zimbabwean model Audrey Zaranyika as a game-changer, dispelling negative sentiment surrounding beauty pageants.
The model, who hails from Norton and is now based in Hampshire, United Kingdom, told NewsDay Life & Style in an interview that the Miss/Mrs Africa UK/IE is a beauty pageant that has been created for African women residing in the UK and Ireland who are aged 30 and above, as they are not ordinarily given a platform to compete and be ambassadors on a global scale.
“The pageant supports African women and does away with height, shape or whether one is married or not. It is an empowerment programme that has an interest in causes such as women empowerment, autism spectrum disorder and mental health-related issues. The pageant has an impact on how women stand in community building,” Zaranyika said.
The model, who is passionate about charity work, said she was driven to join the pageant by the desire to fulfil her passion of giving back to the community.
"My advocacy is to promote orphanages, orphans and children in need in the community. I believe that the community at large is tasked with fulfilling its basic needs by providing food, water and shelter and affording it decent educational opportunities,” she said.
The brains behind the pageant and director Yanela Ntlauzana said the pageant sought to promote more than the physical appearance of women, adding that it incorporated wholesomeness, looking at other things such as character and impact in the community.
“Gone are the stereotypes that do not match the individuals, diminishing the power of womanhood to the stigma of unattainable beauty,” Ntlauzana said.
She said the pageant offered a platform for women to pursue their dreams no matter their age.
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"Through Miss/Mrs Africa UK/IE women find themselves again and learn that they are never too old to follow their dreams and become a voice of change,” Ntlauzana said.
In addition to mentioning that great women support other women, Zaranyika expressed her excitement and anticipation for a wonderful experience.
