Women: Why I’m taking part in a beauty pageant

“I can’t wait to rock the outfits,” she said.

“We’ll start with casual wear, representing our flags, then runway our traditional wear and we have to perform, whether it’s a dance or poetry.

“Last, but not least, is evening wear. All of my outfits have been made in Ghana.”

Her traditional outfit was made by a young fashion designer in Bremang, a town in the Kumasi district, and her evening wear was created in Ghana’s capital, Accra.

“I thought I had to look a certain way to compete in a beauty pageant and if I wasn’t already in the pageant scene, it would be too late for me,” Ms Gyamfi added.

“But I reflected on it and I thought, let me do this pageant not for anybody else, but for my own self-care and an opportunity to get back in tune with my femininity as a way of just celebrating Linda and who I am.”