'My ex abused and stalked me - now I'm a beauty queen who helps other victims'

With her former partner still posing a threat, Rehema Muthamia, 25, is using her Miss England title to combat domestic abuse

- LEBBY EYRES

'As former Miss England Dr Bhasha Mukherjee placed the crown on my head, I was overcome with joy, hardly believing I'd won. After the long months of lockdown, when it felt like everything fun had been postponed, it was incredible to be there in person, celebrating my victory with my fellow beauty queens.

It was a far cry from when I found out I'd qualified for the Miss England final, by winning Miss All African Colours, in February 2021. Because of the pandemic, everything had to be done virtually. It was surreal learning I'd won by receiving my sash and crown from my grandmother, rather than going to a fancy venue dolled up to the nines!

When I was younger, pageants weren't on my radar. I'd heard of shows like Miss Universe, but didn't really see myself in them. In 2019 I was invited to join a Miss England heat, but left it on the back burner.

It wasn't until summer 2020, after I'd graduated in genetics from Sussex University, that I started googling pageants to find out more. I saw the Miss England organisation had introduced Miss All African Colours, in the wake of Black Lives Matter. It's specifically for minority ethnic women in England and I thought entering would be an ideal way to be representative of the diversity in this country.

A WINNING STATE OF MIND

Winning hadn't crossed my mind, so to take the Miss England crown and therefore compete in the iconic Miss World competition was incredible. Sadly, some people didn't see it that way - the director was getting calls and emails to say, "This is not Miss England."

It's not the first time I've encountered racism and it won't be the last. I knew there would be a backlash when I won, simply because I'm Black and my heritage is Kenyan. But the way I cope with it is by thinking I now have a platform to be a force for good.