Beauty with a purpose

Enigmatic, beautiful, witty, elegant, talented, ambitious and intelligent—those are some of the words that best describe newly-crowned Miss Malawi UK 2015 Thandikire Mkandawire.

She came out from nowhere but she is so determined to become an ambassador for the disadvantaged, the poor and the orphaned. Yet she is not just your teenage girl next-door. She has a pretty face, she is an actress, model and is pursuing one of those careers you cannot quite easily put your finger on—architecture. And she sounds the part.

“I am drawn to all shapes and forms of humanitarian and doing something for humanity and this crown gives me that opportunity to live for others,” she says in an interview.

Prim in an African rose floral pink blouse and a matching pencil skirt, her ankles demurely crossed in her lacy Christian Louboutins, Thandie is a perfect picture of beauty and brains with a purpose.

“I want to use my crown to uplift the lives of others, especially the girl-child and women. I have a mission to help make a difference in Malawi,” said the Bradford-based 19-year-old, who was crowned Miss Malawi UK 2015 at the Deco in Northampton.

Thandie says she did not join the pageant for fun; she has a mission to accomplish and describes herself as a ‘Suffragette’ who fights for change for the better.

To clearly understand this risk-taking, ambitious and go-getting young lady’s story, get into grips and picture the tell-it-all storyline from the recent released blockbuster movie onthe silver screen, Suffragette.

“Women should not exercise judgement in political affairs. Women don’t have the temperance of mind to vote. Women are well represented in the State by their fathers, husbands and brothers.” That’s the general consensus in Suffragette, a new epic movie that has just been released into the cinemas this month.

It’s 1912 and the place is London, England. For decades, women have been campaigning peacefully for the right to be recognised and be given the same opportunities just as the men fork and not to be treated as second class citizen or the ‘weaker sex.’ Their actions have had little-to-no effect on the men opposing them.

So, the suffragettes decide it is time to up the ante by throwing bricks through West End department store windows. Maybe then the men will sit up and take notice.

In the film, the campaigners stand before Parliament to testify about their poor working conditions, hoping that their words will prompt the men to reconsider their views. But then comes the shocking announcement. Members of Parliament do not see the sufficient evidence to justify a change to the law in favour of the women.

Despite the women’s concerted efforts, their cause has been ignored once again. Incensed by the news, suffragettes protest outside the House of Commons, prompting police to beat and arrest them. One of the campaigners, Maud (Carey Mulligan) is incarcerated much to the shame of her husband. But her imprisonment does not dampen the fighting spirit of her activism and the suffragette movement.

On her release, Maud attends a meeting held by the leader of the suffragettes, Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep) who urges the women to get their voice heard—however brutal.

“Never surrender. Never give up the fight,” says Pankhurst.

It seems Thandie Mkandawire has taken Pankhurst’s word of advice to heart on her mission to make a difference using her crown. She says she wants to see Malawian women taking a lead and be given a fair share in every sphere of life.

Thandie—who is the last born daughter of the late Mwabi Mkandawire of Ching’aya Village, Inkosi Chindi, in Euthini and Annie Precious Jere of Ephangweni Village, T/A Mzukuzuku, Mzimba—is greatly inspired by the Suffragette movement and wants women to be regarded as development partners and not just mere bystanders.

She says: “But the longer the fight for equality goes on, the more it costs the women caught in up in it. The cause in which women believe in is causing them to lose everything.”

Born at Mzimba District Hospital, Thandie—who has royal blood as she is a granddaughter to Traditional Authority Mzukuzuku—asks brusquely: “Is it worth it that women must suffer for trying to help make things better?”

“This is a critical question for every woman in the struggle for a better society. Just how far would we go in the quest to establish a fairer world? Would we sacrifice our own life in order to give someone else the hope for the better future? One man did just that over two thousand years ago,” muses the second year architecture student at the University of Salford in Greater Manchester.

“Jesus Christ died for us to have an abundant life. The gift of life means that everything we have ever done wrong can be forgiven. It means that we are unconditionally loved. It means we can become new people, playing our part in making a better world and that’s exactly what I wanna do as Miss Malawi UK.”

She may have won the crown after satisfying not only the judging panel comprising Steve Chijota, Fiona Guga, Bertha Masangwi and lawyer and singer Davis Njobvu of Edgar ndi Davis, but also captured the audience’s attention with her talents in singing, dancing, strutting her stuff on the catwalk and of course her intelligence. But, certainly, she didn’t join the pageantry just for the flocks.

Though she admits to enjoying the ‘spectacle’ and glory of the red carpet event, she says she likes the fact that she now has the opportunity to help change things in Malawi.

Not only is she now close chums with musician Tay Grin, who was show host alongside actress, Gitta Phiri and the contest’s Njobvu, Thandi is flirting with the idea of doing a chartbusting collabo with the two musicians.

“I would love to do a collabo with both the Nyau King and Davis Njobvu. I want to sing with them songs that will hinge on women empowerment and fighting poverty. Together we can make a difference,” says Thandie.

Regina Mbowela, who travelled all the way from USA to witness the event, says it was a great affair and applauded the organisers for putting up a ‘beautiful show.’

“This is a very nice event. I am happy I came,” she huffs. “It was elegant and well organised.”

Miss Malawi UK executive director Kondi Bowoyeke Munthali said his office will fully support Mkandawire’s efforts towards her work as Miss Malawi UK 2015.

“She looks resolute and focused to achieve her goals. She is very benevolent and someone who cares for others. We will be spearheading a new charitable initiative for her and future Miss Malawi UK titleholders in raising funds towards disadvantaged young girls in Malawi,” quips Munthali.

It is Thandie Mkandawire’s copious mixture of beauty and brains and her conviction and passion for helping the needy in her native motherland that made her the overall winner and the peoples’ choice ahead of First Princess Ellen Gram and Mellissa Bonelli.