08 Oct 2020

Gone are the days when beauty pageants were perceived as a no go area for devoted Christian women, as some Christian women have fully taken charge to showcase their skills and all that is required in beauty pageants.

Thanks to this shift, there are now Christianity themed pageants such as Ms Gospel, Ms Christianity and others, that seek to spread the gospel via beauty.

Phatsimo Ngidi is a Christian woman who seized the opportunity and tried her luck in The Royal Queen pageant in 2017.

She recently got international recognition when she was crowned Ms Christian Africa 2020, in a virtual pageant that was also attended by Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Ghana, Sierra Leon, South Africa, Malawi and Cameroon.

She said that it was by sheer luck that she won, considering that she only just recently developed interest on the beauty pageant.

“I was inspired to venture into beauty pageants that are Christian themed, since it gives me an opportunity to explore my other talents outside church and it is a way that helps me celebrate womanhood,” she said.

She also said the pageants encouraged the spirit of volunteerism and missionary work among others and brought them closer to communities since they encouraged engaging in social responsibility activities.

Ngidi said some of the social responsibility activities she was engaged with included donating stationery, sanitary pads and other hygienic items to the underprivileged students in different primary schools.

She is also a member of Women in Arts, a Non-Government Organisation that advocates for women in the creative industry and also plays a role in raising awareness about gender based violence issues.

Ngidi said though she was pursuing a Masters in Civil Engineering: Water Resources at the University of Botswana, her personal business project named Glam Nation kept her aligned to some aspects that enhanced her interests in beauty pageants.

Her business offers make up, skin care services and also rents out wedding gowns.

Meanwhile, Reverend Sejakgomo Sejakgomo of UCCSA in Molepolole noted that Christianity never disregarded beauty pageants; rather it was due to the fact that Christian women were older and had outgrown the stage of beauty pageants.

He however said the older women were fond of community empowerment activities, such as encouraging the youth and other community members to uphold ethical and moral standards.

Reverend Sejakgomo also indicated said some of the biblical teachings were used back then to stereotype some of the activities as unholy, adding that though the teachings were referenced from the Bible, there seemed to have been misinterpretation.

He said some teachings instilled that Christian women were supposed to dress in a certain way, while revealing and tight dresses were totally discouraged, even if they were to be used for a short time.

He said some teachings did not embrace beauty pageants, especially that some churches forbade the use of jewellery and wearing of make-up.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer for Ms Christian Botswana, Kabelo Eric noted that there was need to embrace and accommodate changes in Christianity.

He said as more youth continued to show interest in Christianity, there was need to come up with initiatives that allow them to use their skills for personal empowerment.

He said Christianity should not only be seen as a platform that encourages acceptable moral behaviour, but it should also encourage and allow youthful Christian women to use their skills and talents in any given field.

Eric said the pageants they undertook were titled in a manner that continued to encourage the spread of gospel and encouraged missionary work as well as social responsibility activities.

He said they came up with beauty pageants  such as Ms Christian, Ms Gospel and others, related to the teachings of gospel where participants were allowed to dress well without exposing their bodies fully.

He said those who have taken part in some of the pageants have represented themselves well locally and positioned the country well internationally. ENDS