The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has met with the reigning Miss Uganda, Quiin Abenakyo who also doubles as Miss World Africa.
Abenakyo who put up a landmark performance in the recently concluded Miss World contest in China and finished among the Top 3, paid a courtesy visit to the Speaker at Parliament on Monday.
Kadaga pledged her support to the beauty queen in her efforts to empower the girl child as well as fighting teenage pregnancies and keeping girls in school.
“I met Miss World Africa and Uganda Quiin Abenakyo when she paid a courtesy call on me at Parliament. We discussed a wide range of issues,” Speaker Kadaga wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.
“I commit to support Abenakyo in order for her plans to succeed as Miss Uganda and Miss Africa”.
One of the factors that handed Abenakyo favour over her fellow contestants during her bid for the Miss World crown was her presentation on the need to lower high rates of teenage pregnancies that Uganda continues to grapple with.
She highlighted the worrying statistics in Uganda where one out four girls aged 13 to 17 is either pregnant or already a mother. She also told the judges and audience a depressing story of Daisy who was molested by her father at the age of 12 and later impregnanted by her grandfather.
“What am I doing about it? Together with Miss Uganda Foundation, we have a ‘Keep a Girl Child in School’ program to equip girls with resources and skills to encourage them to go back to school,” Abenakyo said during her pitch last month.
“When you educate a girl child, you educate the entire community. And the biggest platform one can have is Miss World,” she added.
On Monday, Speaker Kadaga said that it is now time for Abenakyo to implement her plans. One of the ways is using school outreaches through which she can motivate young people, the Speaker said.
“I believe that this is the time for Abenakyo to implement her plans as Miss Uganda and also visit schools and other learning institutions in order to give moral support to students and encourage them to study,” Kadaga wrote.
