The pageant industry in Malawi faced a noticeable void in 2024, with the absence of major contests such as Miss Malawi and Miss Heritage.
Historically, Miss Malawi was the pinnacle of the nation’s beauty contests, drawing crowds and media attention. But in 2024, it was nowhere to be seen, raising questions about not only the contestants’ future, but also the industry as a whole.
From the performance in 2024, it was like the country was risking its edge in the pageant space where most of the time representation is key to promoting cultural identity and promoting the country’s tourism sector.
While the absence of big contestants was felt, pageants such as Miss and Culture Malawi and its franchise pageant Miss Culture Dzaleka stepped in to fill the void, offering a fresh perspective by celebrating cultural heritage and empowering women beyond beauty.
Miss Culture Dzaleka debuted on August 3 at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District to highlight and preserve different cultural backgrounds of the camp residents.
The pageant featured six contestants of different nationalities to celebrate and showcase their diverse cultural heritage.
The contest was organised by Dzaleka Youth Organisation in collaboration with Miss Culture Malawi and Lush Africa. The contest was won by 20-year-old Burundian Shakira Phillimon.
Born and raised in the camp, Shakira applauded the platform, saying she would use her title to advocate for better and improved education for children in the camp.
Pageant founder Alaini Bitijuila said they would be organising more Miss Culture Dzaleka events in the future.
After months of preparation, 12 contestants made it to the final of the fourth edition of Miss Culture Malawi, along with the second edition of Mr Culture Malawi.
Finals of the two contests took place on November 29 at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe where Lilongwe-based 23-year-old model Weshah Mwalamoyo was crowned Miss Culture Malawi 2024 while Alinafe Kanjana emerged winner of Mr Culture Malawi 2024.
Miss Culture Malawi founder and Lush Foundation owner Lorraine Kljajic said through the pageant, they aim to drive impact to empowerment, charity initiatives and promote tourism.
“We have been consistent and we are growing as a brand. As we celebrate five years next year, we will go bigger and better,” she said.
During the grand finale, Malawi had the honour to host Miss Culture Global 2024 South African Casey Esmeraldo, marking the first time a global beauty queen visited the country.
In the year just ending some Malawian queens made their mark internationally, participating in events such as Miss Culture Global, Miss Teen Universe and Miss Tourism International.
The 2023 Miss Culture Malawi Ireen Navicha participated in the Miss Culture Global contest which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 6. Though she missed the crown, Navicha was crowned First Princess.
On October 31, Navicha represented Malawi again in South Africa at the Miss Teen Universe contest, where she won the special award of Miss Teen Universe Social Project 2024.
Rebeccah Kazingatchire represented Malawi at the Miss Tourism International 2024 contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she faced 49 other contestants for the Miss Tourism International on December 13.
