Renowned media personality Grace Msalame has instituted legal proceedings against Uganda's Ministry of Tourism for using her image and likeness to promote Miss Curvy Uganda 2019.
In a statement on Twitter, the TV presenter detested that the beauty pageant used her to propagate and encourage the objectification of womens' bodies.
“I am currently pursuing legal actions and remedies against Miss Curvy Uganda,” she told Kenyans.co.ke, adding that she wanted the Ugandan government to cease and desist from using her photo as well as make a public apology.
“I strongly and categorically reject a message that pits women of different sizes against each other. I am in no way associated with an activity that objectifies women in the name of promoting culture,” continued Msalame.
She argued that Miss Curvy Uganda's deliberate and calculated use of her image and likeness to promote and encourage the violation of women's bodies, defamed her character and reputation and damaged a brand which she had worked for many years to establish.
She stated that the use of her image subjected her to unwarranted and undeserved cyberbullying.
The pageant was unveiled in Kampala on Tuesday by the Ugandan Minister for Tourism, Godfrey Kiwanda, as part of a tourism promotion strategy.
“We have naturally endowed nice looking women that are amazing to look at. Why don’t we use these people as a strategy to promote our tourism industry?” Kiwanda posed.
The initiative sparked a heated debate in Uganda with some citizens accusing the minister of promoting sex tourism.
A Ugandan woman, Primrose Murungi, has filed a petition seeking to cancel the contest.
