As she prepares to represent Ireland in Miss Universe, Kildare woman Aishah Akorede chats about being an ‘introverted extrovert’, balancing business with beauty pageants and how competitions need to support authentic modern women
The Kildare beauty queen, now 24, never intended to enter the pageant for a second time — but she’s so glad she did.
“In 2018, I didn’t enter with the hopes of winning. I entered with the hopes of bettering myself and understanding myself more, which I succeeded in doing,” she tells Magazine+.
“It helped me find my purpose, it gave me connections to some of the most amazing women that I’m still friends with to this day, and it taught me a lot about being a hard-working woman who can impact the lives of so many people if I just put my mind to it.
“I didn’t expect to enter it again but, as the years went on, I kept on watching the pageant and thought, ‘I want to do this again.’ The main reservations I had were self-belief, whether I’m worthy of representing Ireland, but I just decided to put my reservations aside and go for my dreams.”
First established in 1952, Miss Universe will mark its 72nd pageant this month, with 90 women from across the world hoping to succeed last year’s winner, American fashion designer R’Bonney Gabriel.
Miss Universe hopeful Aishah Akorede rocking her tiara
So much more than just a beauty pageant, delegates are “forward-thinking and motivated” enactors of change. This tenet is continually disregarded, however, and the organisation has faced its fair share of criticism over the years.
Miss Universe hopefuls are expected to parade in swimsuits for one portion of the event, and the pageant is accused of perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards by flaunting its army of slim, leggy girls (many of whom are models) to an international audience.
But Aishah, who holds a master’s degree in International Corporate Governance, argues that the Miss Universe pageant is feminist at its core as…
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