Maria David
OSHAKATI - The cliché that disability is inability has clouded perceptions in Namibia for a long time, but a collective effort has arisen to challenge and combat the stigma surrounding disability issues.
At the forefront of this movement is Eva Josaphat, the visionary behind the Miss Ability Namibia beauty pageant, which has since 2018 been dispelling the myth that people with disabilities are incapable of achieving different goals.
Josaphat says her mission is to empower individuals with disabilities, fostering their self-confidence as she was inspired to create a platform for people with disabilities after growing up at the Oshakati State Hospital, where her mother, Ida Angunga, was employed.
At the time, people with disabilities were accommodated in a separate ward, and a young Josaphat started assisting them with their chores.
“I later became a member of a paralympic sports club named Oshana Heroes Sports Clubs, where the idea of giving the beautiful ladies with disabilities a platform to showcase their beauty was born,” she recalled.
She said the focus of the pageant, which caters for women aged 18 to 45, is not on beauty alone, but also on other qualities of substance and community involvement. “I am an advocate of change and I believe that empowering the people can help them find their place in society.”
Josaphat indicated that she aims to give an equal platform to all women with disabilities in Namibia who want to embrace their beauty in full and hopes the event will create an inclusive nation for every Namibian, while simultaneously advocating the rights of people with disabilities, especially women who have always wanted to be beauty queens but were denied a formal opportunity to realise their dreams due to disability.
When Miss Ability Namibia began in 2018, Josaphat said there were only five contenders, which led them to crown each finalist that year. The only support for the event came from family and friends who attended the function. “When we hosted the second edition the following year, we received 40% of our funding from the community, businesses and the finalists’ families,” she explained.
One of the previous contestants is 25-year-old Lucy Nambahu, who was voted Miss Personality.
Nambahu and uses a wheelchair. She said she understands the self-doubt that can plague individuals with disabilities in her community and the nation.
“Many experience extensive prejudice in communities in which they live,” she said.
Nambahu felt that through participating in the beauty pageant, she was accorded an opportunity to firmly express herself and prove to the world that she was capable and also got to know many people with various disabilities.
Another former participant, 30-year-old Frieda Mandjangi, said before she participated, she was beset by low esteem and an inability to freely express herself without fear. Mandjangi feels she was left behind due to several factors, including her lack of confidence, her outlook and a sense of worthlessness.
“Life has never been better than it is today,” she said.
Although she did not win the title, her experience was memorable as she was given an opportunity to step outside her comfort zone and open herself up to new experiences.
“The pageant gave me hope that I can be authentic, write her my story, choose my own route and do what is best for myself.”
Meanwhile, Rundu resident Loide Mupuma said through the pageant she gained confidence, self-belief and the realization that she is not limited by her condition. “I am confident that I can accomplish everything I set my mind to,” she said.
In addition to modelling, the now 42-year-old said she found passion in Paralympic sports and interior design after her participation in the pageant.
“My love for engaging with people and my outgoing personality led me to take on the role of becoming the voice of the disabled,” she said.
Navigating the delicate task of hosting the pageant, Josaphat still faces sceptics who question the modelling potential of women with disabilities.
“How will women with disabilities model?” is one of the queries she has constantly had to deal with.
The next Miss Ability Namibia is scheduled for November this year. Perhaps sceptics can take their seats alongside the admirers and witness not just a pageant, but a transformation as the Miss Ability contestants show the world their abilities are boundless and their spirits unbreakable. - Nampa