It’s about celebrating culture, says pageant contestant

Adopted Derry girl and aspiring scientist Skhululekile Mupemhi has said that her involvement in the first Miss/Mrs Africa Ireland pageant is all about empowering young women.

“We need young women in power, we need to stand tall, we are seen but just not heard, we need to be empowered,” said the 19-year-old, who hopes to study bio-medical science at Queen’s University Belfast in September.

Skhululekile, one of 14 finalists in the competition to be held later this month and the only one from Northern Ireland, said it was “not about the catwalk”.

Organisers insist it is not just about physical beauty but about encouraging young women to achieve their life goals and celebrate their culture.

Skhululekile said it was different from what people might imagine a pageant to be.

“It’s more of an empowerment platform, helping young women even culturally embracing your diversity, celebrating your culture,” she told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.

“It’s not just like a beauty pageant, like cat-walking and what people would think, so it’s different from other pageants.

“It’s a very uplifting platform, especially for young women.”

Originally from Zimbabwe, Skhululekile and her family moved to the city two years ago where her mother Fortunate works as a midwife.

The teenager is waiting for her A-Level results and in the meantime she is a youth leader with the African Caribbean Community Network (ACCN) in the city.

The organisers of Miss/Mrs Africa Ireland insisted it was “not just a pageant” but an opportunity for contestants to highlight their “unique heritage”.

Dr Dineo Moiloa-Murphy, an emergency physician who moved to Ireland from South Africa, is the organiser of the event.

“You don’t have to look a certain way to participate in this competition,” she said.

“It is so important for young women of colour, young migrant women who are trying to find their place in the world, to really be seen, to really know that they belong, to have it through maybe representation of their dreams or somebody that they want to look up to.”

She added that it allowed young African women in Ireland to empower themselves with masterclasses in media training, how to “dress for success” and financial literacy.

In between the pageant, studying and her youth work, Skhuluekile’s faith and church play an important part in family life.

When they first arrived in Derry, Skhululekile said her family was welcomed into the community by the Methodist Church.

“When we started going to church, we found people who supported us and welcomed us and made us feel at home,” she said.

“We have been trying to adjust to the local culture.

“It hasn’t been too hard, as people in Derry like to smile a lot. At first, I was, like, do these people know me?” Skhululekile joked.