My Miss World Experience
Dec 18, 2003
For a young woman, and not-so-little girl from the streets of Kampala, the trip to the Miss World 2003 pageant in China was more than an experience of a lifetime –– it was almost a lifetime in itself
By Kalungi Kabuye
For a young woman, and not-so-little girl from the streets of Kampala, the trip to the Miss World 2003 pageant in China was more than an experience of a lifetime –– it was almost a lifetime in itself.
Nineteen-year-old Aysha Nassanga, who is crowned Miss Uganda 2003, had never been away from her family for any extended period of time, nor never left the country. She had never flown in a plane, never seen real snow, and had some vague idea that the Chinese were some kind of magicians.
But these thoughts rattled her brain before she boarded a Kenya Airways plane on November 7 that took her to Nairobi, Bangkok, and landed 18 hours later in Hong Kong.
For a month, Aysha saw skyscrapers in Hong Kong that she had only seen on TV. The beauty queen was also somehow in awe about being in the presence of 105 women who were also crowned as the most beautiful in their countries. When it snowed, she said the feeling of snowflakes falling on her face also intrigued her.
She learnt that because of all the things the Chinese have done throughout their long history of inventions and culture, they really had to be some kind of magicians.
But most importantly, Aysha noticed that the great divide between white and black really exists, and that the most beautiful woman does not always wins the crown.
“It was a great learning experience for me, and that’s true –– although everybody says that,†a seemingly confident Aysha said when she met The New Vision at the Ziper Models offices.
“It was great, but I’m also happy to get back home. I didn’t go to boarding school, so I have never been away from home. This is the longest I have spent away from my family, and I missed them.â€
She might have missed her family, but the experience she went through after boarding that plane at Entebbe Airport, alone and scared, will forever impact on her life.
From a lifetime in downtown Kampala, suddenly she was in Hong Kong –– one of the busiest cities in the world. And there she met the first few beauties who would be with her for the next month or so. She met Miss Colombia, France, Switzerland, and Ethiopia at the airport.
Then, she met the others over the next three days, and they spent their time in Hong Kong, sightseeing and touring the city.
Then it was on to Sanya, then to Beijing for three days, and finally back to Sanya for two weeks of intense training.
They went all over the place, and were all very impressed by the Great Wall of China. She admits she did not know very much about China, because she did not study about it in school.
How was it to be with 105 of the most beautiful women in the world? It had to be intimidating.
“No, of course not, why should it be?†a supremely confident Aysha retorted. “I’m also not exactly ugly, you know. All those girls were chosen from their own countries, just as I was chosen from Uganda. We were all equal.â€
Did she think any particular woman would win? Did she have any personal favourites?
“They were all beautiful, although I thought Miss Poland was probably the best. Miss Nigeria and Miss Jamaica were also very beautiful.†What about all this favouritism and discriminating against non-white women that we hear about at beauty pageants?
“It’s true, it happens,†Aysha replied. “Like, it was obvious Miss Ireland was being favoured all the time. If she was late, we would wait for her.
If she was missing, they would look for her, but not us. Miss India and Miss Venezuela were also among the favoured.â€
Aysha recalls how the photographers and cameramen would ignore the African women, and relates how one of them told Miss Ethiopia that she was a beautiful girl, and how sad it was that she came from Africa.
She also said most of the women were very surprised when the Beach Title went to Miss Ireland, and not Miss Jamaica, and when Miss Canada won the Miss World Sport competition when they felt it should have gone to Miss Barbados.
“We kept hearing that Julia Morley did not like what happened in Nigeria last year, and that she lost a lot of money. For that reason, she would never let the Miss World final go back to Africa. Maybe even let an African girl win it,†she said.
But at the end of the day, it was a great experience for Aysha Nassanga, and given the chance, she would not change one bit of it. “I’m not disappointed, maybe just a little that there was only one Africa girl in the Top 20. But, it has been a wonderful, exciting experience for me,†she said. “My responsibilities as Miss Uganda go on, of course. But if nothing major ever happens again, this will stand out as the biggest thing in my life.â€
For a young woman, and not-so-little girl from the streets of Kampala, the trip to the Miss World 2003 pageant in China was more than an experience of a lifetime –– it was almost a lifetime in itself.
Nineteen-year-old Aysha Nassanga, who is crowned Miss Uganda 2003, had never been away from her family for any extended period of time, nor never left the country. She had never flown in a plane, never seen real snow, and had some vague idea that the Chinese were some kind of magicians.
But these thoughts rattled her brain before she boarded a Kenya Airways plane on November 7 that took her to Nairobi, Bangkok, and landed 18 hours later in Hong Kong.
For a month, Aysha saw skyscrapers in Hong Kong that she had only seen on TV. The beauty queen was also somehow in awe about being in the presence of 105 women who were also crowned as the most beautiful in their countries. When it snowed, she said the feeling of snowflakes falling on her face also intrigued her.
She learnt that because of all the things the Chinese have done throughout their long history of inventions and culture, they really had to be some kind of magicians.
But most importantly, Aysha noticed that the great divide between white and black really exists, and that the most beautiful woman does not always wins the crown.
“It was a great learning experience for me, and that’s true –– although everybody says that,†a seemingly confident Aysha said when she met The New Vision at the Ziper Models offices.
“It was great, but I’m also happy to get back home. I didn’t go to boarding school, so I have never been away from home. This is the longest I have spent away from my family, and I missed them.â€
She might have missed her family, but the experience she went through after boarding that plane at Entebbe Airport, alone and scared, will forever impact on her life.
From a lifetime in downtown Kampala, suddenly she was in Hong Kong –– one of the busiest cities in the world. And there she met the first few beauties who would be with her for the next month or so. She met Miss Colombia, France, Switzerland, and Ethiopia at the airport.
Then, she met the others over the next three days, and they spent their time in Hong Kong, sightseeing and touring the city.
Then it was on to Sanya, then to Beijing for three days, and finally back to Sanya for two weeks of intense training.
They went all over the place, and were all very impressed by the Great Wall of China. She admits she did not know very much about China, because she did not study about it in school.
How was it to be with 105 of the most beautiful women in the world? It had to be intimidating.
“No, of course not, why should it be?†a supremely confident Aysha retorted. “I’m also not exactly ugly, you know. All those girls were chosen from their own countries, just as I was chosen from Uganda. We were all equal.â€
Did she think any particular woman would win? Did she have any personal favourites?
“They were all beautiful, although I thought Miss Poland was probably the best. Miss Nigeria and Miss Jamaica were also very beautiful.†What about all this favouritism and discriminating against non-white women that we hear about at beauty pageants?
“It’s true, it happens,†Aysha replied. “Like, it was obvious Miss Ireland was being favoured all the time. If she was late, we would wait for her.
If she was missing, they would look for her, but not us. Miss India and Miss Venezuela were also among the favoured.â€
Aysha recalls how the photographers and cameramen would ignore the African women, and relates how one of them told Miss Ethiopia that she was a beautiful girl, and how sad it was that she came from Africa.
She also said most of the women were very surprised when the Beach Title went to Miss Ireland, and not Miss Jamaica, and when Miss Canada won the Miss World Sport competition when they felt it should have gone to Miss Barbados.
“We kept hearing that Julia Morley did not like what happened in Nigeria last year, and that she lost a lot of money. For that reason, she would never let the Miss World final go back to Africa. Maybe even let an African girl win it,†she said.
But at the end of the day, it was a great experience for Aysha Nassanga, and given the chance, she would not change one bit of it. “I’m not disappointed, maybe just a little that there was only one Africa girl in the Top 20. But, it has been a wonderful, exciting experience for me,†she said. “My responsibilities as Miss Uganda go on, of course. But if nothing major ever happens again, this will stand out as the biggest thing in my life.â€