wfn.org | All Africa News Agency BULLETIN No. 37/02 (b)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

AANA Bulletin is an ecumenical initiative to highlight all endeavours and 
experiences of Christians and the people of Africa.  AANA Bulletin is 
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SPECIAL  REPORTS

Beauty Queen Defies Tough-Talking Moral Crusaders

KAMPALA (AANA) September 23 - 23-year-old Rehema Nakuya who won the 2002 
Ugandan beauty pageant stood calm and composed in a crisis of identity.

Nakuya was the first Muslim girl to win beauty pageant and probably the 
first medical student. However; her victory opened a can of worms.

Mullahs pronounced her guilty of indecent exposure. "Beauty contestants 
expose their feminine features such as bosoms, legs, and hips to hungry 
judges and spectators," said Sheikh Sulaiman Kakeeto leader of a 
fundamentalist Salaf sect in Uganda.

Hajji Abbas Nuwama of the Uganda Muslim Assembly was infuriated and drew 
line in the sand. "She should relinquish her title or cease being a Muslim 
and go her way," he demanded.

Rehema's other less passionate critics in medical profession disapproved of 
putting herself in limelight.

"An ethical code bars us from advertising ourselves, which she is 
effectively doing," says Dr Margaret Mungherera, Chairperson Uganda Medical 
Association who adds that "she should not mix medical practice with beauty 
contests".

Calm Rehema regained her composure to shrug off her Muslim critics urging 
them to respect her privacy and maturity.

"My mother told me I'm grown up girl and that if taking part in Miss Uganda 
(beauty contest) is part of that process, then she would not stop me," she 
hit back.

Her one-year break in medical practice to concentrate on her role as Miss 
Uganda kept her medical colleagues at bay. Her mother, a widow, brought up 
Rehema in a secular environment and this shaped her laissez faire attitude.

Her moderate views were underlined by her sympathies on a Nigerian woman 
who had been convicted to death by stoning because of adultery.

"It is cruel and inhuman for Amina Lawal to be stoned to death and her 
child left alone," she said, adding that she preferred moderation instead 
of extremism if Islam is to be dynamic.

Her victory has given opportunity to Muslims to re-examine themselves in a 
secular Ugandan society.

Constituting 10 percent of the Ugandan population of 22 million, Muslims 
have been more conservative in social change, which in some ways has been 
beneficial to them.

Uganda AIDS Commission that oversees AIDS related activities has already 
lauded certain Islamic cultural attributes as having protected believers 
from the pandemic and explains why AIDS has not struck Muslim believers the 
way it struck others.

Muslims pride themselves as puritans, respecting women and showing a 
disdain for the Western concept that "devalues women to extent of 
displaying their nude bodies just to sell a box of matchsticks".

"A Muslim woman is pure as gold and we encourage and teach women to uphold 
modesty," says Hadija Kibira of Uganda Muslim Women Vision.

Rehema's cultural exploits coincided with conscious efforts by Ugandan 
Muslims to assert themselves in business, education and politics.

They have also rekindled their religious spirit. Austere men wearing goatee 
beard are a common sight so are women flowing robes covering their faces in 
typical Arabic style.

However, the victory has also exposed Muslims' limitations and 
powerlessness in a secular society.
.
"Even if we wanted to punish Rehema, we could only stop at condemning her. 
This is not a Muslim state," said Sheikh Mahdi Kakooza, Secretary of the 
Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, an administrative organ of the Islamic 
religion in Uganda.

He prefers steadfast parents to bring up their children in the proper way. 
People are free but as children brought up in the faith, they should never 
go anywhere near beauty pageant activity, Kakooza says.

Amir Ahmed Manghali, Secretary of Uganda Muslim Concern Society admits 
administrative mistakes and for leadership to go back on the drawing board.

"Leaders should start going to school to sensitise young Muslims on Islamic 
morals instead of waiting comfortably in their mosques to condemn," he says.

Manghali alludes Islam should utilise Rehema positively. "She should take 
up her responsibility and exhibit a true Muslim picture of a dress code".

However, some in the quarters are still weary of Islamic values, 
particularly the anti-women bias.

"Why should we lynch Nakuya when we kept mum when a Muslim brother won 
himself a brand new Toyota pick-up truck from Pilsner Lager beer 
(competition)," said Sam Musidihe Wandera.

Another young faithful says Muslims should have a more friendly and 
forgiving attitude. "If a person sins she should not be expelled from 
Islam. Allah accepts a person's repentance up to death," says Abdullar 
Masaba, a student at Islamic University in Uganda.

Nevertheless, beauty pageants are increasingly popular among the youth for 
they give them self-expression and a voice to be heard.

Nakuya, guided by principle beauty with purpose, is using her beauty to 
mobilise for a mammogram for Mulago Hospital, the largest medical 
institution in Uganda and crusade for people with disabilities.

Analysts say the youth's major contribution can be to reconstruct Uganda's 
shattered image through well-publicised pageants.

"People should understand that winning the Miss Uganda title is like being 
chosen to play an ambassadorial role," says Sheila Kewamara, East African 
Assembly delegate and former head of Uganda Women Network.

Pageants have helped other young people become imaginative and creative as 
evidenced in fashion shows where girls have created fashion ware out of 
banana leaves.

A backcloth from Uganda is making it on the international scene, 
underlining the view that Ugandans no longer shy about their cultural 
identity. All this attributable to beauty pageants and fashion shows.

Uganda for the first time won the 2002 East African finals of Golden 
scissor award and many Kenyan models considered the Ugandan experience as 
rewarding.

"It is clear Ugandans won the contest because they are stuck to African 
culture," a Kenyan mode list Joan Wambuyi says.

Reported by Crespo Sebunya

Lack Of Trust Derailing Process Of Regional Integration

NAIROBI (AANA) September 23 - Mistrust and inefficiency are major drawbacks 
to the integration and subsequent development of the East Africa Community.

The three states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are spending more time 
discussing how to "share poverty"  rather than exploring common growth 
potentials.

Jared Kangwana, a Kenyan member of East Africa Legislative Assembly, said 
here recently that there is unnecessary mistrust and apprehension based on 
different levels of economic progress.

He spoke at a public forum organised by the Nairobi-based Institute of 
Economic Affairs to deliberate on trade challenges facing the EAC.

Kenya, whose economy is valued at US $10 million, is perceived as being 
more commanding and aggressive by Uganda and Tanzania whose economies are 
valued at US$8 million respectively.

"Discussing trade protocols based on development level differences is 
focussing on the small picture. Different levels of development will always 
be there," said Kangwana.

"The reality is that our economies are relatively the same and we should 
seek to develop our common strong points. Our direction should be to put up 
mechanisms to attract investors in less developed areas of our region".

Kangwana said this in reference to the ongoing final discussions to herald 
the establishment of an East Africa Custom Union, expected in the next two 
months. The contentious issue under discussion in Arusha, Tanzania, is the 
level of the common external tariff to be applied by the EAC countries.

While Kenya and Tanzania favour a common external tariff of 25 percent, 
Uganda favours that of 15 percent, according to a Ministry of Trade and 
Industry official from Kenya involved in the discussions.

Eric Ronge, a policy analyst with the Kenya Institute of Public Policy 
Research and Analysis, said the best common external tariff for the EAC is 
20 percent. "Our final studies have come up with common external tariffs of 
0, 10 and 20 percent for primary, intermediate and final goods 
respectively," said Ronge.

The level of internal tariffs has been decided and is based on each 
country's economic strength; a feature that experts say is not good for the 
EAC socio-economic development.

The agreed internal tariffs will require Tanzania and Uganda to reduce 
tariffs on Kenya goods by 80 percent whereas Kenya will reduce tariffs on 
imports from the two partner states by 90 percent.

Kenya will however remove all the tariffs on imports from Tanzania and 
Uganda by the time the Customs Union protocol is signed. Kenya dominates 
the intra EAC trade, exporting about 11 percent of her total exports to 
Tanzania and 17 percent to Uganda.

In return, Kenya imports only 0.2 percent of its total import requirements 
from Uganda and Tanzania respectively. "The trade imbalance is considerably 
reduced when we take into account the informal cross border trade," said
Ronge.

Ronge said the perceived trade difference however has a substantial 
influence of the nature and the pace of the integration efforts in East
Africa.

He said specific clauses are inserted to ensure that the integration 
efforts do not worsen the perceived imbalances that already exist between 
the three countries.

He said the formal trade imbalances only exists within the manufacturing 
sector and ignores other sectors, which all the countries are well endowed 
with.

Ronge forecast that if the current levels of economic growth were 
maintained in Tanzania and Uganda, then in four years, those economies 
would equal that of Kenya in terms of value.

Kangwana said there is inefficiency in decision making process of the 
community specifically because the East African Legislative Assembly has 
not been facilitated to discuss and pass any laws.

The assembly's performance is limited by the fact that only the Council of 
Ministers can initiate a Bill. The council is made up of three Ministers 
from each country.

Jared Kangwana, a Kenyan member of East Africa Legislative Assembly, said 
here recently that there is unnecessary mistrust and apprehension based on 
different levels of economic progress.

He said the Ministers rarely meet and when they do, they are afraid to 
propose bills that could be seen as "unfriendly" to the governments they
serve.

Since the assembly had its first sitting in late January 2002, it has not 
passed any Bill. The assembly was started in November 2001 and any law it 
makes becomes binding immediately in the three member states.

The assembly consists of 27 elected members and five ex-officio members 
consisting of the Minister responsible for regional co-operation from each 
partner state and the secretary general and the counsel to the community. 
The EAC was established by a treaty signed in November 1999 and officially 
launched in January 2001.

In addition to the organs and institutions established by the treaty, a 
number of key bodies rooted in the EAC that have so far been established 
include the East Africa Law Society, East Africa Country Business Council, 
and the Inter University Council of East Africa.

EAC has a population of 82 million, Gross Domestic Product of US$19 billion 
and total trade value of US$12.6.

Reported by Stephen Mbogo