Mrs Galaxy Australia finalist has her say on pageants

by Marie Pietersz

Archana Seliyan, winner, Mrs Sri Lanka Australia 2016 (NSW)

 Fathima Zareen, finalist Mrs Sri Lanka Australia 2016

The Miss Sri Lanka Australia pageant has nominated two of its 2016 contestants to participate in the Mrs Galaxy Australia 2017 contest to be held at the Gold Coast, Queensland, on 28 March. Participation in this national contest will provide our Sri Lankan community representatives with exposure at the national level and experience in competing against the wider Australian community.

Mrs Sri Lanka NSW 2016, Archana Seliyan, and finalist Fathima Zareen, will vie for the title of Mrs Galaxy Australia at the national finals.

Archana and Fathima have raised funds for Make a Wish Foundation and participated in many public and community events, a requirement for contestants of the Galaxy contest. Archana’s primary sponsor is clothing label NAATH and her secondary sponsor is Sri Lankan bridal label SAVISH. Fathima has also been sponsored by SAVISH.

Based on her experience in the two contests, Fathima provides her views on what participating in pageantry means and her ‘take’ on the perfect score of ’10’, adding to other views from contestants and critics around the world on this rating. Fathima says of some of the myths:

“Critics of beauty pageants argue that such contests reinforce the idea that young women should be valued primarily for their physical appearance and this puts tremendous pressure on females. However, as a finalist in the Miss Sri Lanka Australia and Miss Galaxy Australia contests, I have a completely different outlook on the subject.

“In response to critics, both Miss Sri Lanka Australia and Miss Galaxy Australia contests created platforms which allowed me to break down my barriers of fear. They helped me to create life-long friendships with fellow contestants and gave me the opportunity to be an active member of the community through the use of my title.

“Both these contests not just rewarded my youth and beauty, but actually opened up doors for a ‘better me’ and created a platform to stand up for what I believe in.
“As some of my feminist friends say, ‘Beauty pageants are a space where women get objectified and sexualised’. However, what they forget is there is always another side of the coin they refuse to see.
“Miss Sri Lanka Australia and Miss Galaxy Australia celebrate and empower young women to be who they are. They open up a stage where females can walk with pride and focus on creating independent individuals who can lead in society.
“As a final note, there are always two sides to the same coin and our responsibility is to critically reflect which side is best for us.”

Congratulations and good luck wishes to our two entrants who will represent the Sri Lankan community in the national finals for the Mrs Galaxy Australia category title. Winners of the national titles will compete in the 2017 International Galaxy Pageant to be held in July in Florida, USA.

Submitted by Marie Pietersz
Pictures: courtesy of MSLA