Uganda, an east African country known for its vibrant culture and natural beauty, has long sought to boost its tourism industry.
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The "Miss Curvy Uganda" Initiative
Godfrey Kiwanda officially launched the “Miss Curvy Uganda” beauty pageant as part of his “Tulambule” (“let’s tour”) promotion to attract foreign visitors. The aim is to showcase Uganda's "naturally endowed, nice-looking women" as a unique attraction alongside the country's wildlife and scenery.
“We have naturally endowed, nice-looking women that are amazing to look at. Why don’t we use these people as a strategy to promote our tourism industry,” said Kiwanda at a launch event in the capital, Kampala, while gesturing at a lineup of unhappy looking contestants on a stage.
Ann Mungoma, the contest’s chief organiser, said the initiative was designed to promote an appreciation of beauty in diversity. “Miss Curvy is an event that will bring out the endowment of the real African woman. It is an exceptional event that will see young ladies showcase their beautiful curves and intellect,” said Mungoma. Women aged 18 to 35 are eligible to participate in the contest, according to organisers.
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Ugandan women protesting against objectification
Criticism and Controversy
The proposal to add “curvy and sexy women” to official literature listing Uganda’s attractions, devised by the country’s tourism minister, has drawn an angry rebuke from the minister of ethics and integrity and condemnation from women’s right activists. The initiative has faced widespread criticism from various sectors of society, including government officials, religious leaders, and women's rights activists.
Government Opposition
In an angry response to the scheme, Simon Lokodo, the state minister for ethics and integrity, said the contest “definitely could not happen”.Lokodo said: “It’s shameful. I strongly condemn it. It demeans women and completely destroys their integrity. You can’t bring people from abroad to come and see the physiognomy of your people [women]. It’s not different from the striptease that they put in bars and lodges. It completely reduces a woman to toys of entertainment.
“I am already receiving a lot of support from women themselves, including [female] members of parliament. Everybody is against the competition.”
Women's Rights Activists' Outcry
Rita Aciro, executive director of the Uganda Women’s Network, said the minister should resign over “dehumanising” and “degrading” women. “It’s a shame to women and girls of Ugandans. It’s an exposure of scant knowledge of his job and what it takes. Common sense tells you tourism is not promoted using women’s bodies. Women are not sex objects,” said Aciro.
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“Ugandan women have offered better for this country. He should apologise to Ugandans and should resign his position. The government should disassociate itself for the minister.”
Perry Aritua, executive director of the Women’s Democracy Network in Uganda, said: “This is just despicable. Women still [continue to] face derogatory treatment. It’s against the fight against sexual and gender based violence in this country. Article 33 of our constitution is very clear that women will be accorded equal dignity with men. So when you objectify women as a form of tourism, you have reduced their dignity."
Activist Primrose Nyonyozi Murungi has launched a petition on charge.org calling for the pageant to be scrapped, with overwhelming numbers signing up in support. “In a country where women are grabbed by men while walking on the streets, they have legalised it by making them tourist attractions. It is not fair.
Presidential and Religious Concerns
At first Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, said he understood the concept of Miss Curvy, insisting that it was no different from any other beauty pageant. Later, however, he distanced himself from it. “This was not a cabinet decision. People should not come here to see women. I do not like the idea that we are marketing our women for tourism.”
Religious leaders including Simon Lokodo - a former minister of ethics and former priest who is at the forefront of a witch hunt for gay people and “indecent” women - also spoke out against the pageant. “This thing they are doing is very bad for the country. Uganda is a moral country. We have so many things we can use instead of women’s bodies,” he said.
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Miss Curvy Uganda Protest
The Underlying Issues
Critics argue that the "Miss Curvy" campaign is a form of objectification that reduces women to their physical attributes and reinforces harmful stereotypes. They highlight the dangers of objectification, which feminist scholars argue is dehumanizing and can lead to increased aggression and a lack of moral concern for women.
Tourism brings in about $1.4bn to Uganda annually - nearly 10% of GDP. However, its poor governance and human rights record has stifled its potential for tourism, and the country’s profile is dwarfed by neighbours Kenya and Rwanda. Uganda has ambitious development goals, including becoming a middle-income country by 2020. Attracting revenue at the expense of women’s dignity is perhaps part of the plan.
It is important to recognize that the state-sanctioned objectification of Ugandan women is an indirect sanction for tourists to objectify them as well. Feminist scholars have long argued that objectification is dehumanizing and as such results in the women and girls who are objectified being seen as less deserving of moral concern and at heightened risk of experiencing aggression. As Barbara L. Fredrickson and Tomi-Ann Roberts write in their article on Objectification Theory, “Once sexually objectified, the worth of a woman’s body or body part is directly equated to its physical appearance or potential sexual function and is treated like it exists solely for others to use or consume.”
Objectification also harms the mental health of women and girls caught in its crosshairs, as they internalize external views and perspectives and constantly monitor how their bodies look based on those expectations.
Defense of the Initiative
Sadly, many Ugandans actually support this strategy and have defended it by saying that slender women have been used to promote brands since the beginning of time, so using curvy women is essentially appreciating beauty in diverse forms.
The women who turned up for Miss Curvy say they are happy to be tourist attractions and make money at the same time. The Ministry of Tourism in Uganda has announced that it will be 'strategically' making use of "naturally endowed" women to attract tourism to the country.
The Road Ahead
The "Miss Curvy Uganda" controversy serves as a reminder of the complex relationship between tourism, culture, and women's rights. While some argue that it celebrates diversity and empowers women, others see it as a step backward in the fight for gender equality. The incident highlights the need for Uganda to address the dangers of objectification and prioritize the dignity and safety of its women.
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