/ARTS WEEKLY/SWAZILAND: Popularity of Beauty Pageants Grows

By James Hall Reprint | | Print |

James Hall

MBABANE, Mar 11 2003 (IPS) - The riotous protests against beauty pageants in West Africa have barely been noticed, much less influenced, the popularity of pageants promoting the attractions of Swazi women and even men in this small Southern African kingdom. Beauty pageants are more popular than ever, and their supporters say they are necessary both as entertainment events in a country where entertainments are few, and as a way to showcase local talent.

"Government is committed to promoting these pageants, and the Arts and Culture Council will be supporting them through greater cash grants," says Mswazi Shongwe, director of arts and culture for government.

A congregation of Muslims in the kingdom, about 5,000 practitioners of Islam out of a population of 960 000, do not attend the pageants, but have not publicly registered their disapproval.

"Swaziland allows all types of people and religions here, and this is not a Muslim nation where Islamic law is therefore violated by government funding of events that Muslims tend to shun as being immoral in our view," says Mohammed Magongo, who worships at the mosque in the central commercial town Manzini.

The Miss Swaziland competition is the key pageant, drawing the greatest media attention and corporate sponsorship.

Promotion of the country as well as providing a primary entertainment function seems to be government’s interest in extending sponsorship money. Vinah Mamba, a long-time organiser of pageants in Swaziland, said, "The goal of Miss Swaziland is ultimately to find a candidate for the Miss World competition, so there is much national pride involved in the selection".

Mamba puts on the annual Miss Swaziland and Junior Miss Swaziland competitions, the latter for teenage girls. The older Miss Swaziland contenders are involved in regional and then a national competition whose aim is more ambitious: a public relations-minded effort to send a Swazi envoy out into the world to show that the small kingdom can compete with the greatest when it comes to female beauty.

Judges are on the look out for more than beauty, however. Contenders are evaluated on the intelligence of their responses to questions posed to them about current world events and their own goals as beauty queens.

Mamba has become a successful businesswoman in Mbabane, and her participation in beauty pageants is a voluntary sideline. To Swazis she is a role model to be emulated.

"Beauty helps, but skill and intelligence are what will make a woman an achiever," local entertainment writer Gugu Mngomezulu says.

Women’s advocacy groups like the Swaziland branch of Women in Law in Southern Africa and the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse have never criticised beauty pageants.

"Our culture is different than the West, where women’s rights groups find beauty pageants demeaning," says Thandi Dlamini, a Manzini law student. "For Swazi women, a pageant can be a chance to show independence. Ours is a society where until recently girls remained on family farms until a marriage was arranged for them. Women are still legal minors in Swaziland. We cannot own property or sign contracts without the consent of a male relative."

When a Swazi woman puts her beauty and talents on display publicly at a pageant, it is a sign of emancipation, Dlamini says.

Glitz and glamour, within limited budgets, characterises Swazi pageants. The combination of government and private sponsorship manages to get the events staged at all, unlike musical concerts that are often cancelled at the last minute due to loss of financial backing.

Thabsile Dlamini hopes to compete in this year’s Miss Swaziland pageant. "I’m looking for a way forward, through education. The international competitions I could enter as Miss Swaziland offer scholarships," she says.

Young Swazi women are drawn to the possibility of scholastic scholarships, particularly to foreign universities. Most contestants say their only hope of studying outside the country is through these scholarships.

The contestants of Swaziland’s beauty pageants go through the usual event routines on stage. They show themselves in formal wear and swimwear. The top ten candidates are given solo time to display talents ranging from singing, to performing traditional dances, to gymnastics.

The talent show is the least important for point scoring with the judges, though these acts are usually great crowd pleasers. Judging is weighed more heavily on verbal responses the candidates give to questions posed to them by the master of ceremonies.

"We want our Miss Swaziland to represent our nation and the African continent on a global stage, so she must be aware of what is going on in the world, but be able to communicate an African perspective," says Zama Gama, who served on a pageant judges’ panel.

A Mr. Swaziland competition is also receiving funding from government’s cultural council. The competitions for men give an opportunity for well-built contestants to flex their muscles in swimwear, and then show their sophistication in eveningwear. The winner goes on to compete at Mr. World, whose competition venue shifts cities annually.

The beauty pageants are used by the Swazi fashion industry to display their designs, worn by contestants or local models. The cabinet ministers, government officials and prominent business people who attend the competitions are the desired audience the designers seek to impress.

"I’ve sold my outfits at all the pageants after they are shown," says Gena Bambo, a Ghanaian dress designer who works in Swaziland. "These pageants are important to the fashion industry."

Government’s interest in granting financial support to beauty pageants despite a tight economy and limited budget shows the importance for morale, business and national promotion the displays of Swazi beauty possess.