Miss Ivory Coast pageant loses congeniality points
Despite its fancy prizes and big-name benefactors, the country’s largest beauty pageant is losing popularity. In fact, the audience at the final round of Miss Côte d’Ivoire was noticeably thin. RNW interviewed some crown-skeptical locals to find out why.

On Saturday at the Hôtel Ivoire conference hall, Hélène-Valérie Djouka was crowned Miss Ivory Coast 2012. Along with her tiara, the 18-year-old second-year law student gets a trove of other sparkly prizes: approximately 15,250 euros for winning the beauty pageant, nearly 7,620 euros from the Ivorian first lady, the ceremony’s sponsor, and a brand-new car.


Running for years, Miss Cote d’Ivoire is a pioneer on the country’s pageant scene and remains a high-profile event. Yet more and more people are questioning its meaning.


“What is this pageant going to change in the lives of Ivorian populations?” wonders Patricia Sanogo, sunken into a chair before her television set. The 28 year old did not attend the Miss Ivory Coast competition finale. Nor did she watch the live broadcast, preferring to tune into Nigerian comedy instead.


Sanogo’s doubt is echoed by Caroline Nadié, a kindergarten teacher in the capital city of Abidjan. “I lost interest in this contest ten years ago. It has become monotonous and empty, being reduced to a competition among half-naked women. I still don’t understand the purpose of this pageant,” she says.


Purposeful pageants
However, a few years ago, Nadié was a fan. In fact, she entered the pageant’s regional level, though was not selected as one of the 24 national finalists. Nowadays, she would encourage her younger sisters to enter not Miss Ivory Coast, but rather pageants such as Miss Mathematics, Miss English or Miss Environment. And these are not hypothetical titles.


Recent years have witnessed a rise in “purposeful” pageants. Although they may have been inspired by Miss Ivory Coast, these competitions intend to send a clear message: contestants are assessed not on looks alone, but on their academic performance and intellectual abilities.


According to Carmelle Kouao, a former Miss Mathematics winner, Miss Ivory Coast simply does not compare with the other pageants. “I prefer an intelligent woman to one with only beauty,” she says.


An illustrious nobody
“How many people in this country know about the Miss Mathematics pageant or who their winners are, or even what prizes are?” aks Blaise Kouadio. The high school teacher in Abidjan, answers her own questions: “Very few people do. The contest has low media coverage and sponsors would rather support worldly events over excellence.”


Miss Ivory Coast might celebrate beauty, but some believe the event could have a more beneficial impact on the lives of Ivorians. In a country scourged with malaria, HIV/AIDS and community conflict, pageants could be used to convey purposeful messages to the masses.


But as Rachelle Irié, a 27-year-old hairdresser, notes, it is difficult for young girls to resist entering the  pageant due to tough economic circumstances.


“Have you considered what prizes the Miss Ivory Coast winner gets,” says Sabina Achi, ”besides the fact that she will become famous and be welcome almost everywhere? It’s a real fortune! As for the Miss Mathematics winner, she is an illustrious nobody, at least to most Ivoirians.”


In a tone of sarcasm, the 23-year-old student adds: ”And I bet that, with the prize money, she cannot even afford to buy hair extensions for six months.”