Miss True African Queen gets four in Blantyre

Miss True African Queen formerly Miss Matofotofo on Saturday afternoon settled for four names to represent the Southern Region at this year’s Miss True African Queen finals slated for Sunbird Capital in Lilongwe.

The four, according to Lwazi promotions which is running the pageant this year, are Rebecca Yapuwa, Benadetta, Pilirani and Fatima Chana. Initially, Lwazi Promotions announced that they were looking for five contesters from each of the country’s three regions. When commenting on why they picked only four out of the eleven that turned up to try their chance, founder and Director of Lwazi promotions Lwazi Mbowa said most of them did not meet the pageant’s requirements.

“Miss True African Queen involves women with big bodies and weighing approximately 85kgs. They should be aged between 18 and 35. Nonetheless, weight does not matter most provided the person has a big body. From the seven we dropped, three were above 35 years of age, one was below 16 and others were let down by their body structures,” she said.

Mbowa said of the four selected, two have physical challenges. She also revealed that the four were not selected through auditions as earlier announced. She said they used interviews and looked at the physical capabilities of the contesters.

“I am happy that despite a short time announcement, some people with physical challenges got the courage to try their chance. I hope we will have more from other regions. This year’s pageant strives to build confidence in women who feel sidelined and these include the big-bodied and the physically challenged. We celebrate African traditions and cultures and we believe in that there is beauty in every woman,” said Mbowa

According to the Mbowa next will be Mzuzu on October 26 and they will finalise with Lilongwe on November 2. The sessions are expected to produce five regional representatives who will compete for the national title onDecember 6, 2013.