Khahliso Khama
MASERU – Disabled women will have the chance to strut their stuff on the ramp in the Miss Disability is Not Inability 2010.
The special beauty pageant, set for May 29, will be held at ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre.
The event is being organised by St Angela’s Home for the Disabled in conjunction with the Lesotho National Federation of the Disabled (Lenfod).
Sr Kuenane Majara, one of the co-ordinators of the pageant, said St Angela’s had initiated the event to give the disabled a platform to showcase their potential.
“We want to show the world that people living with disabilities are no exception in doing what they love,” Majara said.
This is the first time such an event will be held since Lenfod held a similar beauty pageant in 2004.
Majara said disabled people were overlooked in most things because people had the perception that “they cannot do it”.
“I believe these pageants will open doors for the ladies who will take part,” she said.
“It is at this occasion where we expect people especially stakeholders to spot talent and give these ladies opportunities equal to what they give the able-bodied.”
Contestants have been drawn from different homes and schools for the disabled — mainly the districts of Maseru, Leribe, Berea and Butha-Buthe.
The pageant is also open to disabled women who are not at homes or schools for the disabled.
The 16 ladies competing for the crown are aged between 15 and 25.
They will showcase their ramp skills in evening wear, traditional and smart casual wear.
Majara said the criteria for selecting the queen and her princesses will be based on intelligence, smile, looks and confidence.
Questions for the contestants will be based on the UN Convention for the Disabled.
Among the entertainers for the night will be Fatere, Top Dog Dancers, Stlofa, Tankiso Moahloli, DJ Counter Force, Curaman, Kingdom Classics and Maseru Vocal Waves.
Majara urged people to support this initiative in the hope of touching positively the lives of the disabled who are hardly catered for in entertainment activities.
She also said they were planning to host this event every year.