Miss Mama Africa Beauty Contest Looks to Empower China's African Queens

While the benefits of expat life in China certainly seem to abound at times, that sentiment can sometimes change on a dime and leave us foreigners feeling like strangers in a strange land. Sadly, the brunt of such discrimination in the mainland is often felt worst by African expats. Be it the racist blackface skit at this year’s Spring Festival gala, or a notoriously offensive Chinese detergent commercial that went viral a few years back, our African friends certainly have plenty of affronts to contend with.

READ: A Short History of Blackface in China

But all that makes a recent slew of empowering independent events and initiatives all the more triumphant and meaningful in the capital. Be it BLK GEN’s recent spoken word event in conjunction with Spittoon, the Pride of Africa Awards, the string of entrepreneurial and cultural events that compromised Africa Week, these uplifting happenings have countered recent negative news with aplomb. And now another empowering initiative has begun shedding light on some of Beijing’s most noteworthy African women. 

Dubbed Miss Mama Africa or "MMA", this beauty contest is organized by coordinators based in Beijing and sees 20 contestants on average partake every year from cities across China. A recent promo for the contest describes it as “a celebration of beauty and intellect” that “strives to spread the message of love and peace throughout the world by annually appointing delegation among outstanding African women/girls from all around the world.”

Indeed, this event eschews the superficiality, sexism, and exploitation so often associated with beauty contests, and instead has socially conscious aims. The promo says “The purpose of this contest is to prepare a foundation of world peace, to share ideas, [and] promote beauty through seeking development as an international contest, which also suits for the purpose as an opportunity for African beauties from all over the world.”

Below is a list of the contestants as well as a link for more information on how to vote:

Haichi Santos (Cabo Verde)
Living in Beijing, Bachelor Student in International Business and Trade (Beijing Central University of Finance and Economy).

Joyce Angelle (Cameroon)
Living in Fushun, Bachelor Student in Civil Engineering at Shihua University.

Ketsia Enka (Rep. of Congo)
Living in Xi'an, Bachelor Student in Civil Engineering Construction of Highway and Bridges at Changan University.

Isatzu Zeinab (Sierra-Leone)
Living in Wuhan, Bachelor in Clinal Medical at Wuhan Medical University

Syntiche Tshilobo (D.R of Congo)
Living in Hangzhou, Bachelor Student in International Economics at Caijing University.

Djamy Faudy (Niger)
Living in Beijing, Master Student in International Communication at Communication University of China (CUC).

Uxelle Uwase (Rwanda)
Living in Beijing, Bachelor Student in Electronics Information Engineering at North China University Of Technology.

Bedacee Vishista (Mauritius)
Living in Beijing, Bachelor Student in Architecture at North China University of Technology.

Eva Alfadil (South Sudan)
Living in Guangzhou, Bachelor Student in Medecin at Guangdong University for Foreign Studies.

Yayra Doulce (Togo)
Living in Shanghai, Bachelor in Engineering Logistics at Shanghai Maritime University.

Rachel Mutena Babu (D.R of Congo)
Living in Guangzhou, Student at South China University of Technology.

Lilian Mutindi (Kenya)
Living in Jinhua, Bachelor Student in International Trade and Economics at Zhejiang Normal University

Martha Kwandu (Zambia)
Living in Shijiazhuang, Bachelor Student in International Business Trade and Economics at the School of Business Studies.

Daria Thewu (Tanzania)
Living in Guangzhou, Bachelor in International Economics and Trade at South China University of Technology.

Sylvia Kasiva (Kenya)
Living in Guangzhou, Bachelor Student at South China University of Technology.

Gounoupkerou Milka (Benin)
Living in Beijing, Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (TCSOL), 2nd year at Beijing Language Cultural University (BLCU).

Nancy Monnya (South Africa)
Living in Beijing, Teacher at Beijing Foreign Studies University, International Education (Known as Beiwai).

Naomi Mpana (Cameroon)
Living in Beijing, Master in International Journalism and Communication at China University of Communication (CUC).

Hawawu Sulemana (Ghana)
Living in Beijing, Master Student in Communication, New Media at Communication University of China (CUC).

Haja Marie Korona (Sierra-Leone)
Living in Beijing, Bachelor Student in International Economics and Trade at Beihang University.

For more information on the contest and how to vote, click here.

More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
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Photos: Wang Xiang/Beijing Review, courtesy of MMA