Former Miss Malawi Jescar Mponda is one of the country’s inspiring young women leaders who juggles many trades; beauty, modelling, social work and writing to effect social change in our society. Apart from running her Jireh Home Foundation she founded in 2022, she has ventured into the writing world with a bang. Jescar has released and launched her first book Why Beauty Queens Bleed?
that amplifies women’s voices. She said her book is an introspection and advocacy which mirrors into the struggles of girls, especially beauty models, hidden in the glitter of crowns. Jescar uses her personal story to advocate for a fair world where everyone enjoys equality, social justice and human rights.
She amplifies sexual exploitation and challenges the systems to ensures decisions are made fairly, rights upheld and voices of disproportionately affected groups of people are heard all the time. “Basically, my book project is my legacy. It is my way of signing out as the Malawi Queen and passing on knowledge about hidden things behind the crown that might help girls coming after me.
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“Most importantly, it talks about beauty pageants shortfalls; how sometimes, instead of uplifting girls, it breaks them. It is a manual guide to help pageant organisers and sponsors to do better and improve for the best of the industry,” she said. Jescar further said the book serves as a guide to mentally prepare for challenges they might face and how best to use the platform to empower, not to abuse models.
She said empowering and respecting girls’ and women rights is vital for stronger foundations for their future. “As a former Miss Malawi, my dedication is entirely on growing my foundation and giving it the skeleton it needs to achieve our goals and objectives. We provide opportunities and support for children, especially girls to rewrite their untold stories.
“We also mentor girls, offer empowerment sessions and school essentials to lessen the burden they face during menstruation that forces them to drop out of school,” said Jescar. Through the foundation, she has supported over 1 000 children with mentorship, schools materials, sanitary pads and advocacy programmes. She has also sent children back to school and motivated many to embrace their purpose in life.
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