Miss Humanity International 2011 Contestant - Miss Tanzania, Lilian Mduda

Profile Info

Country: United Republic of Tanzania
Age: 23 years
Height: 175.00 cm
Occupation: Student
Horoscope: Virgo

Philosophy:

Life is a gift, life is fragile and every minute should be treasured, life is about adding value to someone's life.

Hobbies:
Reading novels, listening to music and watching movies

Bio:

Born in 1988 to the family of four children, two girls and two boys. I am the third born in my family. Throughout my life I have looked up to my parents who are still alive and with good health till now. I went to primary school in the same town I was born into, that is Kibaha. After graduation I went for my secondary education in a boarding school located in Morogoro. I was chosen to join high school in Tambaza which is in Dar es salaam after which I joined University of Dar es salaam pursuing Bachelor of commerce in Marketing .

My modeling career started when I was studying at Tambaza, because it is a day school I could get time on the weekends to do what at the time I took to be just a hobby. I started at an agency called Juda modeling and casting where most of the jobs I got there were ushering in different events. After a year my contract was over and I decided to start doing the career as my own person because that allowed me more freedom to work with different agencies and designers. A year after starting my modeling career I started doing fashion shows. I remember my first fashion event was RAFDA, followed by the first Swahili fashion week which was inaugurated in 2008. After that I was able to work with different designers like Ally Remtullah, Mama Africa Sana and Vida Mahimbo.I always thought I wanted to do more in modeling than what I was doing in my country which brought up the idea of modeling outside the country.

It was apparent that it would take time long before the fashion industry grows in Tanzania. So in 2009 August I took my chance by auditioning in Face of Africa model search where I was chosen from 50 something girls to represent Tanzania in the competition. In October I joined the other 23 girls from different African Nations at a camp located in Mombasa. After two weeks only 12 girls remained, I was excited because I was among them. We came to Tanzania for Swahili fashion week in November after going to South Africa for a profile photo shoot. At the end of the fashion event, two more girls were evicted, I was proud that I was not among them coz it would have been a disappointment to me as well as my country. In the end the top ten girls went to Nigeria for the finals where the winner was a girl from Zambia. I was disappointed that I did not win but I thought that the judges had been fair because it was a tough competition and only one person had to win.

The FOA experience was very good to me because not only did it expose me to more of a life I would have to live if I decide to pursue the modeling career when I finish my degree, but also it was a platform for me to know more people and give me more confidence as to the power I have to create my own destiny. After all, it’s the choices we make and the way we devote ourselves to what we do that determine our success. It also opened my mind to the opportunities that one have in making a difference in the community by impacting lives of others by helping them in one way or another and hence add value to their lives..

Humanitarian Advocacy:

Gender Discrimination

The aim of entering in this competition is to support the charities that work to advocate against gender discrimination. The reason behind my choice is that women and girls in Africa, East Africa in particular are still put in the private sector( domestic tasks) while men are put in the public sector. This problem has not started today, but since the time of colonialism and though different agencies and associated have tried to work on this problem still it can be seen even today in the following aspects;Family level. In most families women are given a submissive role while a man is seen as the head of the family whose decision is final. A girl child is supposed to do domestic chores while a boy is allowed to go out and play with his fellow
kids. Also most men prefer a boy to be born in the family than a girl, which in most cases if a girl is born they do not get as excited as when a girl is born.

Cultural level.
In most cultures it is found that women are not given most of the rights that men are given such as making decisions that impact the whole society and ownership of land. Also in tribes like the Maasai a girl child is not allowed to go to school and also is subjected to genital mutilation. Even though some of the societies have been educated to its effects, the problem can still be seen in some of the stubborn societies.

Educational level.
In most schools, girls shy away from scientific subjects having a belief that boys are more suited to these subjects because they are tough. There is need to make girls aware of their capabilities and that they can do great things as much as boys or even more than boys.Religious level. In mot religions a woman is taught to be submissive to a man, that a woman was created to serve and help a man. Even in most Islamic societies, a woman is isolated from most of society functions like burials, leadership and others.Political level.
Most leadership positions are taken by men in the belief than women are too fragile to handle the stress and hard work involved in leadership.
This can be seen in the few number of women that are given leadership positions in the parliament and the fact even the women who have helped in attaining independence in most African countries are not given recognition like men were.Seeing the above evidence of the sexual exploitation that is still going on in my society and the little attention that this cause is given compared to others in the list of other causes mentioned, I decided it would be more value adding to the society for me to support this cause by working with different organizations involved In fighting against sexual exploitation. And I hope by being crowned Miss Humanity International I will have more influence to so.


Special thanks and credits to misshumanityinternational