Ugandans on social media have embarked on an aggressive campaign to root for the reigning Ugandan beauty queen, Quiin Abenakyo who made it to the Top 30 Finalists in the Miss World competition.
Miss World 2018 beauty contest which is ongoing in Sanya, China will be climaxed on December 8.
Miss Uganda, Quiin Abenakyo went head to head with Miss Argentina to pitch the projects they intend to achieve for their countries. For Abenakyo, it was the 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.
“When you educate a girl child, you educate the entire community. And the biggest platform one can have is Miss World,” she added.
Not only did her presentation touch on a very critical social problem, but she also delivered it with utmost confidence and articulacy. This perhaps explains why all the three judges picked her over Miss Argentina, Victoria Soto.
Judges included the current Miss World 2017 title holder Manushi Chhillar (India), and former Miss Worlds Meghan Young (Philippines, 2013) and Stephanie Del Valle (Puerto Rico, 2016).
Abenakyo becomes the very first Miss Uganda to reach the Miss World Top 30 contestants. And this achievement has got Ugandans upbeat. For days now, messages have been circulating on different social media platforms urging everyone to vote for Abenakyo.
In recent years, Ugandans have had less interest in the beauty pageant, at least compared to other aspects of entertainment such as music and sports. Now that 22-year-old Abenakyo has helped Uganda make history, it seems she could change the perception towards Miss Uganda.
Faith Mulungi, a digital strategist and presenter with Power FM is one of the many Ugandans who have aggressively used her social media to rally support for Quiin Abenakyo. She says that the reigning Miss Uganda is eloquent and a go getter, there if given the support she needs, she is capable of winning the Miss World crown.
“I have always been fascinated by pageants, and since i can’t qualify,
I would lowkey root for the Ugandan contestants,” Mulungi told SoftPower News on Tuesday.
“This year however, Quiin sort of stands out. It is hard to scroll past her. I am rooting for her because who knows? It could be our time,” she adds.
Mulungi believes that Ugandans are awake and ready to support Ugandans who are excelling and that it why she has chosen to offer her platforms for the cause.
Voting is free on the Miss World website as well as the Mobstar App and the Facebook Fan Page.
