‘My Odyssey To Conquering The World’ – Miss World Muslimah 2013

The University of Lagos student, Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola who was crowned world most beautiful Muslimah reveals to Tribute her journey to Miss World Muslimah!

 

What prompted your interest in the competition?

I saw the competition online, via Google.  I was browsing on  that day and  read the organisers asking for young ladies around the world who  have  made an achievement either in their academics or in the area of  arts, culture or sports,   wear hijab, can read the Quran fluently, and have one or two things they have  contributed  to their  community and  should be  within the age bracket of 18 to 27.

We were told to upload a short video of our Quran reciting capability, which was the most important part of the contest. That prompted me to apply for the competition which I did.  We were 550 candidates that registered from all over the world,  but  seven countries—United States of America, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Asia, Nigeria, Iran and Indonesia, were shortlisted for the finals.

 

And what are your achievements that qualified you to register?

I won an award in essay writing competition organised by Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC).  We were also made to write a short essay about our hijab experience, social activities and eligibility.

 

How did you feel when you were declared the winner?

I never expected that I would win.  The lady from Indonesia, the host country, and I were the last two standing. After being shortlisted as the top two finalists, we were told by the organisers that it was the orphans in that country who would vote for the winner and I was voted for. I never expected them to vote for me, a Nigerian, my thinking was that they would vote for their own, the Indonesian lady.  The feeling was indescribable.

 

Don’t you think your new status as world most beautiful Muslimah will have a negative effect on your faith?

Not at all. On the contrary, it has strengthened me the more. Now, people’s eyes are on me, especially watching the way I behave. The most important thing is to improve on my character.

 

Do you think the competition will enjoy a greater acceptability?

Yes, by God’s grace. When I won, all over the world and especially here in Nigeria, so many people were complaining that the idea of parading ourselves in the name of a competition was not Islamic. But I think it was the press misconception because as of then, they were having a Miss World Muslimah competition in Indonesia which the Indonesians protested against and which eventually led the Miss World organisers to relocate the pageant to Jakarta, the state capital.  The Indonesians wanted to prove to the world that you need not bare yourself to the whole world before you can be judged as the most beautiful in the world.

 

The winner was chosen by the orphans. I didn’t win because I was the most beautiful. Most of the contestants were short in height, some were slim and others were fat. So basically, we were not shortlisted because of our physical attributes but based on how we projected ourselves and our ability to recite the Koran fluently.

 

Although you didn’t expose your body like other beauty pageants, but the fact remains that you all sashayed and catwalked to the admiration of the audience which comprised both sexes.  Don’t you think that was unIslamic?

According to the Holy Quran, Muslim women are to guard their chastity and protect their beauty from men who are not Mahram to them. Mahram means those who are our blood relations.  With that, at the finals, one of the reasons we were asked to catwalk was because we came out to tell the world who we were.  The presenter called our names and we came out, dropped our flags and went back. At the finals, the Indonesian Islamic Council was present.  So if there was anything indecent, they would have cancelled it outright.  Some newspaper and online reports claimed that the judges were men, which was absolutely false. The judges at the finals were four women. Although some men were part of the audience, but they were not judges.

 

But some believe the women paraded their beauty under the lustful eyes of some male Muslims in the audience which was against your faith?
We were covered from head to toe.

 

Who among the other candidates did you regard as your major rival?

None of them. Everyone contributed her best in her own way. I saw them as friends and we all exchanged ideas.

 

How did your parents react to the feat you made?

They were happy and proud of me.

 

How does it feel to be recognised globally among your friends and more importantly on campus?

I don’t envisage any difference in the way my colleagues in school, especially those in my department will treat me. I’m a humble person and I keep praying to God  to help me so as not  to be  proud or  too full of myself  while relating with them and more importantly my friends.  I promised myself not to get carried away by my new status.  I will meet with the Muslim society in my school and explain to them why I participated in the competition because I learnt they questioned the essence of the competition. All the same, I will continue to be myself and also be a role model to Muslim ladies out there.

 

You won 500,000 rupees. What did you do with it?

Apart from the money and holiday to India and Mecca, I was also given a scholarship to study fashion designing in Indonesia and also set up a fashion designing line there.  I told the bank where the money I won was deposited to retain a part of the money for me in establishing the fashion line. I am supposed to start the training now, but I have to hold on till I finish my studies in the university.

 

What were your experiences like in the two countries?

I won’t be going to India until February and Mecca during Umrah (lesser hajj), that is towards the end of the year.

 

Since you have become an ambassador of a kind for Muslim women, what is your opinion on the practice of child-bride?

According to the Quran, women are supposed to be married off at the early part of their life from 18 years upward. But in recent times, some Muslim men now suggest that Muslim girls should become marriageable from the age of 12, citing the fact that some young girls now develop women’s  physical  attributes even at age 10.  In Islam, women are respected and in my opinion, Muslim ladies should be allowed to come of age and be matured, not just physically but intellectually as well. That is the most important.

 

Do you have any pet project?

Yes, I have a pet project in mind. I want to create an awareness, especially in the area of child-marriage and girl-child education.

 

What is your educational back- ground?

I attended Wesley College of Science, Elekuro, Ibadan, Oyo State, for my secondary education while I’m at the moment studying Urban and Regional Planning and in my final year in University of Lagos, Lagos State.

 

What was growing up like?

As a young girl, brought up in a Muslim family, I went to a Muslim school for my junior secondary school where we wore hijab. When I gained admission to Wesley College for my secondary school, I was not exposed to the kind of social activities that they engaged in. I felt shy and out of place wearing my hijab. At first, I almost succumbed to the pressure of removing it so as to belong.  But my parents insisted that after closing from school, I should wear my hijab.  It was easy doing this but I tried as much as possible to be myself. On getting to the University of Lagos, I still wore my hijab but there have been a lot of challenges. I am the only Muslim lady that wears hijab in my department.  Initially, I felt I should remove it because I was shy and felt out of place. My friends, course mates and even some lecturers kept taunting me. My friends while poking fun at me would say, "why don’t you just remove your hijab and be like us?’’  Sometimes I would walk into a group or a large crowd and would discover I was the only one wearing hijab and would feel uncomfortable, but I later overcame these challenges. I made a resolution to be always proud in my hijab regardless of criticisms.

 

Who are the people you look up to as role models?

One is my Mum. She was a Christian before she got married to my Dad and was converted to Islam. Not only did she embrace Islam, she also started wearing hijab, much to the surprise of her friends, family members and colleagues at her work place. The way she lives her life motivates me.

 

How would you describe yourself?

I’ m a quiet person, but I try as much as possible to always speak up  so that  I will  be heard. I like reading, if you are looking for me, just check the library.

When I travelled to Indonesia, I found that in their schools, they engaged in so many intellectual activities to help improve their studies but here in Nigeria, many students don’t. The government is not focusing much attention on the reading culture and I think this it is disappointing.  Many books in our university libraries are outdated while some higher institutions don’t even have e-library.