Mariam Abdul Rauf a.k.a Nasara is the quintessential definition of a true Ghanaian beauty, arguably the most beautiful woman in Ghana now. Aside her charming looks, the gorgeous beauty queen is also a ‘shark’ reading Business Administration in one of Ghana’s prestigious tertiary institutions. Like many beauty queens, her life took a dramatic turn when she was declared Ghana’s Most beautiful 2009 at the National Theatre in Accra. Just days after her return from the Miss Earth 2009 pageant in the Philippines, we sat down at her cosy apartment at Sakumono Estate to discuss fame and what she hopes to achieve with her crown.

Nasara says, she wanted to become a journalist whiles growing up but deferred that dream because she was giving a Business course at the senior high school instead of her preferred General Arts and therefore had to read Business Administration at the Tertiary level.

‘its like a dream come true, I’m always excited when I see myself with the crown but more especially when Children, Adults and even Hawkers recognize me on the street and scream my name, its really fun’ was the answer she gave me when I asked if she was enjoying her current status as a beauty queen, she was quick to also add, “fame itself may be fun but its how you use it to get to where you want to be that matters otherwise it will be of no use to be famous”. She was vey happy to have represented Ghana at the world environmental pageant, Miss Earth 2009 and openly declared how eye opening the whole Miss Earth experience was. She particularly mentioned the 3 R’s(REDUCE, RECYCLE and REDUCE) concept which she learnt from the pageant organizers and was very worried that Ghanaians in the 21st century still can’t recycle, reduce or re-use the many filth we generate in the country. She hopes to collaborate with Zoom lion to at least try and inculcate the three R’s into the Ghanaian community with the hope that it will reduce the serous filth the nation is engulfed in but unfortunately, the down side of her trip was the global issue of racism which reared its ugly head at the pageant. This was after I enquired if she also experienced the same treatment meted out to her predecessor, Sarah Naa Adoley at the 2008 finals of the same pageant.

‘I experienced racism on two occasions, the white girls were given more attention and treated better than us the blacks and I was so angry at a point, I had to say it on stage that I was black and very proud of it’ she lamented. To her, beauty is not about the skin colour of an individual but the intelligence, eloquence and what is within the person and what they can give to society. Despite this sad situation, Nasara said, it made her more determined and gave her a different perspective in life that nothing comes to a person on a silver platter, sometimes you have to face a lot of challenges and she sees the racism issue as one of those challenges she boldly overcame at the pageant and unlike Adoley who in a separate interview said she will never advise any young lady to go to the Philippines for any international pageant, Nasara rather advised any one going for any international pageant to be emotionally and physically prepared to deal with such happenings. In the interim, the Most Beautiful title holder for the rest of her tenure will concentrate on her education and her peace project in the Northern region which will take off this year. She doesn’t share in the belief that beauty queens are promiscuous or ‘Ashawo’ as we say in local parlance. To her, its rather the opposite because ‘once you become a beauty queen, you stop pleasing yourself and rather please people, people will be watching your every movement and that is what you keep in mind before doing anything and once you start being promiscuous, people will definitely get to know and this might get to the press so why will a beauty queen risk all that? As for me, it’s a BIG NO, she concluded with a smile. Nasara likes to tease people for a hobby and says the three things people still don’t know about her are, she is a very shy person, very good at cooking and will be married at the age of 25 (ISHA ALLAH). She thanked the organizers and all who have helped in getting her to where she is now and hopes to make it with their prayers.

Interview by Nana Mensah