Participants at the Miss Malawi beauty pageant auditions in Mzuzu have hailed the return of the competition, saying it will open up doors for them to advance their modelling careers.
The pageant last took place in 2012 when Susan Mtegha was crowned Miss Malawi. This year, media houses Nation Publications Limited (NPL) and Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) have joined forces to run the national event.
The contest starts with auditions in all three regions before going into regional and national finals.
Speaking in an interview after the Mzuzu auditions on Saturday, one of the participants, Esther Chiviya, 24, said the auditions helped her to assess herself in terms of strengths and weakness.
“The auditions have helped me know myself better than before. I am happy to realise that I have more strengths than weaknesses.
“This gives me an opportunity to advance my modelling career as I will be working on my weaknesses pointed out by the judges to be a much better person,” said the Construction Studies student at Mzuzu Technical College.
Chiviya said the return of the pageant is a good development for girls who harbour ambitions of representing the nation at and international platforms as well.
“Miss Malawi contest is a powerful tool to change the nation because the winner acts as an ambassador for the country on the world map,”
she said.
A third year Bachelor of Arts (Education) student at Mzuzu University (Mzuni) Miwasy Nyirenda said the contest is an opportunity for exposure as it will be broadcast on Zodiak Television.
“It’s the first time for me to participate in a big event like this one. Without the national event, we were left with the local ones at Mzuni and other fashion shows like Mzuzu Fashion Week. Participating in this national event will expose us to a bigger audience,” she said.
Former Miss Malawi Blandina Mlenga Khondowe, who was a judge during the auditions, said people should forget about the four-year absence of Miss Malawi and focus on the future to make it an annual event.
“We can’t do anything about the past. We can only ensure that now it becomes an annual event,” she said.
Four aspiring queens were scouted in the North to compete at the regional finals on November 5 this year.
