A businesswoman wins the controversial Miss Curvy contest in Uganda
On Friday, Ugandan businesswoman Nasai Belinda won the “Miss Curvy” contest in Uganda in Kampala, which aims to celebrate the beauty of curvy women. This sparked controversy after she was implicated in a government campaign that called for their use as a “tourist attraction.” .
The winner, who was beaming with joy, promised to be an “inspiration” for women with round shapes.
“Because being fatter is not a problem. Being rounder is something more: it is beauty and brains, we can do more. So, be happy with yourself and do your best to never stop being that way. Just keep moving forward.” “. He added.
The competition, in which 25 Ugandan women have been selected as finalists, aims to denounce the stigma that overweight people often experience and current beauty standards.
But it was also part of a government campaign aimed at using curvy women to attract tourists to Uganda.
This campaign, which was launched last February, sparked rejection from Ugandan activists, who were angered by statements made by Tourism Minister Godfrey Kiwanda at the time.
He called for making these women a “tourist attraction”, placing them on the same level as Ugandan “nature, language or cuisine”.
These words angered many Ugandans who demanded the minister’s resignation.
“It is an aberration,” Rita Asero, general director of the Uganda Women’s Network, which includes United NGOs, told AFP at the time. “To consider that women can be used as sexual objects in our time is stupidity, which we condemn.” They work for gender equality.
Businesswoman and activist, Primrose Nyonyuzi Murungi, launched an online petition to stop the campaign, which she considered “completely unacceptable and defamatory” of Ugandan women.
He stressed, “Many women have been assaulted in the streets in Uganda. What is happening now is that the government is confirming the stereotype that women are considered sexual objects and can be touched without any problem, and is even turning them into a tourist product.” To Agence France-Presse.
The former leader of the opposition in parliament, Winnie Kyiza, also praised in a statement to Agence France-Presse that this initiative comes “at a time when women face fear and stigma in a society dominated by men.”
Minister Kiwanda avoided controversy on Friday. “I think there is a new wave coming to Uganda, a new self-confidence emerging among plus-sized women,” she said.
fountain: France Press agency
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