The country has recently witnessed the coming in of several beauty pageants aside the Miss Malawi pageantry which has been running for decades.

Apart from the small events which go along with various events such as Valentines Day, some of the beauty pageants which have sprouted include Miss Tourism, Miss Warm Heart of Africa and Miss True African Queen formerly Miss Matofotofo.

Despite being rocked in controversy when last year's Miss True African Queen Florence Banda was dethroned for tarnishing the image of the pageantry, the show has proved to Malawians that it is here to stay and that it is gaining popularity each year.

The pageant, which features full-figured women, has been well handled by the organisers and has attracted sponsorship from various companies and is better organised than established pageants.

Some patrons who attended the Miss True African Queen show at Mount Soche Hotel last Friday praised the organisers, noting that the event is now something which Malawians can be proud of.

"I have attended some beauty pageants but they have not impressed me, they are poorly organised and they are not short of controversies but I have never had a problem with this. I think it all comes down to discipline because the women involved are mature," said Samson Kambewa.

Founder Lwazi Mbowa, who handed over the event to the former queen Florence Banda last year, said the event will surely overtake all the already established pageants, hinting that this is because of its uniqueness.

"This is an event for mature people and this is why you can see that during parades there are a lot of things which happen and you look at the way the women answer the questions, it is so good and then you also see the prizes of a goat and cow, that's unique," said Mbowa.

Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture Daniel Liwimbi, who was guest of honour during the event, commended the reigning queen Florence Banda and her team for rebranding and bringing more colour to the event.

"I am impressed because the organisers have brought new innovations to the pageant with an aim of re-establishing the role of fuller-figured women in the social-economic development of the country," explained Liwimbi.

He also noted that this is in line with the mission of his ministry in promoting Malawi as a favoured tourist destination through involvement of Miss True Africa Queen in cultural and touristic activities at national and international level.

He noted that the Miss True African Queen, formerly Miss Matofotofo, was not created just to make up numbers of beauty pageants but through a great number of participants and attendance, it has shown that it is was created to make a positive impact.

"I am sure you can agree with me that the African woman has great potential of making a positive impact to the society and the national economy if they are given the platform to showcase their potential," said Liwimbi.

He noted that in recent years, societies in Africa including Malawi have adopted the values of western culture and that this influence has not spared the perception on what constitutes beauty in a woman.

"For example women have tried to lose weight to the extent of becoming anorexic for them to fit in the Western standard of being beautiful. This is evident in various social gatherings and promotions and it is not uncommon to see slender bodied women and young girls being featured in product promotions," observed the minister.

With such a scenario, Liwimbi said bigger and fuller women have often felt inadequate because of size but he said with the introduction of the Miss True African Queen and it's gaining popularity now, this notion will change.

During the Blantyre event, organising chairperson Wisdom Chimgwede said it is high time that Malawians encouraged fully figured women to participate in the pageant.

"Fully figured women have been pulled down and have been called various names but through Miss True African Queen we want to change that perception and we are happy that the pageant is growing," said Chimgwede.

Liwimbi said walking on stage as the fully figured women demonstrated during the Blantyre pageant, needs one to be self-confident.

"Beauty contests are one way of fostering the women's self confidence for them to be able to stand up and speak for themselves. My plea to the society is let us not look at these contests negatively by attaching negative connotations to women who are brave enough," said the minister.

With the fully figured women in contest, Liwimbi said Miss True African Queen will change the face of pageants adding that elsewhere in Africa, the big women have been regarded as beautiful hence the slogan 'Big if Beautiful.'

Liwimbi said it was not surprising in an African community to see men praising each other when they have a big woman adding that fat women are considered as beautiful apart from being envied by fellow women of being well taken care of by their husbands.

A 35-year-old nurse and midwife at Mwaiwathu Hospital Hilda Chibambo who participated and was voted Miss Personality, said Malawians need to embrace this pageant.

"To me this is a serious pageant which parades mature people and this is why my husband gave me access to participate. I just want to call upon fellow women not to hide, let's make this event big and better and give surprises to the Malawi nation," said Chibambo.

Second princess 21-year-old Takondwa Kasusu said participated in the event because it is well organised and is destined to make it big for fully figured women.

"It's a popular event so to say and everyone is talking about it, it's not been long but the pageant is already making it big. I just want to encourage women to utilize this platform to make themselves known and fat women need to be proud of themselves and that's how God created them," said Kasusu.

First Princess 22-year-old Elena Chimwemwe Chiwaula said her participation in the event was to prove that fully figured women can do better in beauty pageant.

The single woman who is doing business says Malawians should expect the best during the national event to be held in Lilongwe.

During the Miss True African Queen Blantyre, Madalo Chimalizeni, a Polytechnic student pursuing human resources management, received K50,000 as her prize plus a goat while Chiwaula and Kasusu received K30,000 and K20,000 respectively.