Miss World Muslimah: ‘True beauty is in the covering, not flaunting’

2013 Miss World Muslimah, Obabiyah Aishah Aijbola

They call her the hidden beauty. She is Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola, a Nigerian who recently won the Miss World Muslimah crown in Indonesian, Jakarta.

THE tall, elegant, soft-spoken but daring young lady is a rare combination of innate beauty, talent, grace and style despite the fact that this queen wore no make-up during her courtesy visit to The Guardian, which hosted the new entrant to the world of beauty on her arrival in Nigeria after the competition.

The competition was keenly contested so much so that the juries couldn’t determine the most ideal lady among the numerous contestants fit enough to wear the Miss World Muslimah crown. So, the committee sought the intervention of 100 orphans in the hope that Almighty Allah would guide them. The orphans were to choose the lady who wins their heart the most among the top 10 finalists.

Up until now, Aisha is not sure about what the orphans saw in her. “The orphans were a symbol of purity, trust and objectivity. And only the Almighty knows what they saw in me to have voted in my favour,” she said. So, with the simple click on the vote lock machine, all decisions about the winner were spontaneous. And in her mind, she felt it certainly must be Allah’s best plan for her, her family and her country for it to have turned out this way.

Every step of the Miss World Muslimah event was laden with many meaningful philosophies and articles of Islamic faith, from registration, to the workshop series, the brand and the tagline, all meant to attract the younger generation. The organisers of the event wanted prospective contestants to experience an eagerness to know more about Islam and its core values. They also wanted to showcase the fact that true beauty is in the covering and not in the flaunting.

But why should a Muslim woman wear hijab? Said Aisha: “A true and discerning Muslim woman must cover herself. The Hijab shows commitment to Almighty Allah (SWT). Muslim women wear hijab on the basis of their belief that it is a command from Allah, to protect the Muslim woman, make her character distinct and keep her away from the slippery slope of immorality and error that has become synonymous with life in today’s world, especially among the youths”.

To her, the use of Hijab is noble and confers on the wearer, the highest dignity as the most precious creature in the universe. Her decision to participate in the contest, she said, was hinged on the fact that the World Muslimah Foundation is a friendly Islamic organisation with a vision to develop the ideal Muslim women and cultivate a new or better generation of Muslims. “The mission of WMF is to focus on education, empowerment and appreciation, as the three key strategies to develop the true quality of the ideal Muslim women today,” she said.

As the winner of the World Muslimah, Aisha is the face of Miss Muslimah World 2013 in Nigeria and every part of the globe. And the young lady is poised to change some of the negative perceptions and stereotypes about Islam and Muslim women. Her present role includes being the spokesperson for all Muslim sisters the world over, as she spreads the message of peace, harmony and love to a conflict- ridden world. “ I want to preach holiness, justice and tolerance, which can spur the global community into action to give more attention to our women’.

Her crusade is not just about gender equality in the Western perspective. Rather, it goes in line with the foundation’s aim of reshaping the meaning of gender equality within the perspective of Islam where women are held as first class human beings.

“Women are the pillar of the nation, school of the children and jewels of the spouse and whole family. There is need to elaborate on this the more, as one of the ways of increasing the human capital index, which is also the MDG’s goal.

One of the things Aisha will be doing, as a student and World Muslimah ambassador is to become a “home cash” entrepreneur within the next one year of her dedication. The word C.A.S.H is the acronym for “Home Career Assistance and Sisterhood Hospitality. This is a social programme designed to help individuals start a high profitability and productivity career at home, even while raising children and taking care of their husbands at the same time.

“The idea behind this programme is to project that the family and my sisters are my inspiration. Aisha will be an exemplary model of the project that will be officially launched with the cooperation of a community in Kampung Muka Ancol, the most crowded area in North Jakarta. If I succeed, then the programme will continuously be presented in other countries including my country, Nigeria,” she said.

She is enthusiastic about partnering with Nigerian and other foreign fashion labels and enthusiasts concerned with bringing about social change through fashion, art and culture. She invites them to come and join the WMF as partners, donors, members or as volunteers and feel the humble approach and what could effectively become a life changing experience not only for the participants and stakeholders but also for everyone.

Was she sure about winning the competition or was she just interested in making it to the top as a finalist? She knew she had prospects, which she was very sure of. And that was all she needed to enter the competition. Above all, she knew she would win “by the grace of Almighty Allah, her Maker.” So, she went all out for it. She filled all her details on-line and sent all that was necessary. She was among the first 100 young ladies shortlisted for the first stage. Though her visa was not granted on time, she finally made it to the competition alongside her namesake, Aisha Aderonke Adeshina, a Pharmacy student of the University of Lagos.

After undergoing the second stage, she was among the shortlisted 20 finalists. This number was further pruned to 10 at the grand finale based on their activities during the previous days. What exactly were the judges looking for? Was it sobriety, dedication, prayerful disposition, intelligence, affective composure, mastery of skills, Godly attributes and poise?

The contestants answered questions based on the word: SMART, which had to do with their attitude, ability to act as role models, their knowledge of the Quran and self-confidence. The top10 finalists answered questions based on this principle with reference to the Holy Quran and Hadith. Then, they were shortlisted to the top five.

“At this point, we answered questions on STYLISH sections. These are the six Islamic lifestyle principles that a Muslim woman is expected to deal with in this era of civilisation and they include fashion, food, finance, fundamental education, inclusive finance and festive tourism. Being stylish touches on the values that every Muslim woman should incorporate.

The top five finalists answered questions based on these six lifestyles with reference to Al Quran and Hadith. And we were finally shortlisted into the top two finalists and it was at this point that the 100 orphan were asked to vote for the winner.

“I can’t comprehend what the orphans saw in me. This was in a foreign land. I couldn’t speak the children’s language. They couldn’t understand mine. The contestants were taken to the orphanage and we played with them waving ours hands and smiling at them. I am not sure what they really saw in me. They kept looking at me and smiling at me. They were looking at all of us smiling and giggling and I could tell that they liked me,” she recalled.