Beauty pageant, in the history of Ghana, started in the year 1957 after independence, when Osagyefuo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah crowned Miss Monica Amekoafia as Ghana’s first beauty queen.
Since then, a lot more deserving intelligent young ladies have been successfully crowned as beauty queens in the subsequent Miss Ghana Pageants and other similar Beauty pageants.
A few of these pageants that come to mind are Miss Malaika, Miss Tourism Ghana, and Miss Earth. All of these pageants came with their unique set of approach to addressing certain pressing social issues that affect Ghana as a nation. Contributions made by these various Pageants were immensely essential to Ghana’s development and giving the country a very good image on international platforms.
In the year 2007, yet another culturally educative and insightful Beauty with a national patronage was birthed. This was the “Ghana’s Most Beautiful” (GMB), which could also be seen as “The Pageant with National Purpose”.
This pageant bears the motor:“Redefining Beauty to Promote National Unity and Development”. This particular Beauty Pageant stands out of the lot due to the rich cultural and traditional elements it is characterized with.
Ghana’s Most Beautiful Pageant, since its inception, has given the older generation in Ghana a certain sense of hope for the future. Also the pageant, over the years, has offered a lot more Ghanaians to emotionally reunite with some of their most cherished cultural and traditional values.
It has again rekindled the dignity, recognition and respect due Ghana’s traditional leaders such as chiefs and queen mothers. This way, the pageant seeks to recognize the important roles our traditional leaders play to ensure national unity and socio-cultural development.
Moreover, the beauty contest provides an impressive educative platform which informs the Ghanaian people about some very positive but nearly forgotten cultural norms and values of the various ethnic groups in the country.
Through GMB, most of the youth have been enlightened, to uphold their cultural values and practices in high esteem. This in no doubt entertains both indigenous Ghanaians and foreigners.
In addition, there are existing and ongoing developmental projects by the past queens which are yielding great results. For instance, Esi’s [2015 winner] Pempamsie Foundation launched this year seeks to curb teenage pregnancy in the Central region where prevalence has been alarming in recent years.
The Help Ghana Foundation by founded by Emefa [2012 winner], seeks to resolve issues of maternal mortality. ‘Ewoe’ Organic Brown Rice Project promoting increase patronage of made-in- Ghana goods also by the 2014 winner, just to mention few.
These projects, in one way or the other, have provided jobs to many hence somehow reducing Ghana’s unemployment rate to an extent.
It is also a significant boost to the local fashion industry. Here, mostly local fashion designers are given the rare opportunity to design and create all manner of clothes and accessories for the contestants. The textile industry in the country has also had their fair share. Patronage of local textile, while the GMB lasts, is equally impressive.
The queens on the other hand, have a social responsibility of curbing a major social vice facing their respective regions. These social vices are pursued and curbed if not totally, eradicated to an appreciable level.
They also serve as role models to many young girls in their respective regions and beyond. All of the above is geared toward the development of our dear nation Ghana.
Again, the GMB has its own unique way of uniting the contestants who though from different home and backgrounds, are made to live together throughout the show. This affords the girls the opportunity to learn to tolerate and coexist peacefully.
This has automatically brought about inter-regional unity among the girls. Some similarities in our culture and traditions have been made clear to us especially in our dance, rites of passage and food.
All of these and more show that we are one people with a common destiny, and in unity lays strength; hence we all must stay in unity and work hard to uplift the good name of mother Ghana.
To the founders of the Ghana’s Most Beautiful, I say Ayekoo on your 10th anniversary! It is indeed a pageant worth acknowledging and also deserves to be the most sought after in Ghana and beyond.
Ghana appreciates the 10 years of hard work by the organizers, the remarkable judges and TV3 for bringing this wonderful beauty pageant on our screens.
By Fosuaa Ansu Frimpong|Tema Golf City
Email: [email protected]