As preparations for next year's Miss World gather pace, Ruth Thomas has officially launched her 'Beauty With A Purpose' initiative, the 'Beauty Movement', which is dedicated to tackling the scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) by promoting beauty, confidence, and empowerment.
Of late, Botswana has been grappling with the growing crisis of GBV, with many voices calling for decisive action to nip the problem in the bud. Yet despite these efforts, the issue continues to spiral out of control.
Thomas, who holds the title of Miss Botswana 2025, launched her project earlier today (Thursday), which she will carry with her to the global stage. She explained that the Beauty Movement project aims to help people build confidence — a quality she believes can be instrumental in combating the GBV scourge.
“As individuals, we all yearn for a platform to be seen, to be heard, and appreciated for who we are, but unfortunately, many of us are deprived of this chance. We say we are inclusive, yet we are exclusive,” Thomas said.
She further stated that it is high time to understand that beauty is not exclusive but inclusive to all and highlighted that this ideology will not exacerbate the scourge.
“We look at beauty with a narrow perception, but I want to say beauty should be inclusive, that it exists in scars, vitiligo, and albinism, so we can allow beauty to be a subject of liberation,” she said.
The Miss Botswana title holder feels that her Beauty Movement could be the missing puzzle to dealing with issues of GBV, as the number of these cases continues to surge across the nation.
“So we will have conversations around this with people who have survived GBV because we have so many cases of people who survived GBV today, who don’t know the way they used to be in the past, because they have suffered scars,” Thomas emphasised.
It is in this element that Thomas is advocating that people embrace their differences and know that they are beautiful in their own way, as no one can tell them otherwise.
“Victims of GBV are failing to love themselves because they don’t fit into the beauty aspects. But beauty is standard, though confidence is a choice. The ability to wake in the morning to say 'I am different' and love difference. Live it, embrace it, and let's be inclusive,” the beauty queen said.
To execute this initiative, Thomas said that she would partner with Ratong Centre, which focuses on providing a safe space for victims who have survived GBV. She said the project would be rolled out at Hatsalatladi.
