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Cameroon Reality TV ‘Number One Girl’ Candidates Cry Foul over Rape.
The abuse of women and rape is a big problem in the entertainment industry globally, and Cameroon is no exception.
As part of a Cameroonian reality contest that is broadcast primetime on Equinoxe TV, a group of young women have decided to make a statement against rape in a thought-provoking way.
Number One Girl is a reality TV show where Cameroonian singer, Wax Dey, puts 16 candidates against each other in order to find one vixen for his next video. Video vixens are often associated with low morals. But the singer believes these women have more to offer than semi-nakedness and twerking.
The show teamed up with photographer Nji Asonganyi and make-up house RMB iBow to execute a photo contest that ends up with photos educating men not to misconstrue women’s sexy dressing as an invitation to romp.
One of the pictures shows a successful office worker with an open cleavage and a high slit mini-skirt – but the look on her face is no-nonsense bossy. In another photo, a woman poses suggestively with her thighs open on a bed laced with roses.
Stelle Tchuisse, one of the candidates, and finalists of the contest said: “We want people to see women differently, especially those of us who are aspiring in entertainment. In Africa, when a woman wears something sexy, men often say that she is inviting sex. That is wrong. So in the pictures, we dress the way we want, but our facial expression is stern, indicating that we will not tolerate harassment. We are dressing sexy only because we feel sexy, and feeling sexy makes us feel good.”
Wax Dey explained that he wants the young girls to grow up feeling confident in in their choices, and not to be sidetracked by the expectations of society:
“Number One Girl reality TV show seeks to build the candidates emotionally, mentally, physically and professionally. We invite psychiatrists, career counsellors, model businesswomen, and other established people to mentor them in the house – we also engage them in humanitarian activities such as visits to orphanages; we want them and the viewers to understand that it takes a cross-section of skills and philanthropy to succeed in show business, and even if women have to dress sexy for television, they shouldn’t be pressured to compromise their morality or standards.”
The winners of the contest get to progress to the next level, while the losers face elimination.
Number One Girl will wrap up with a live Finale show on 14 July 2018 at St. Johns Plaza in Douala where the public will vote for their winner from among 6 finalists. The winner will take home a cash prize, an all-expenses paid trip overseas, and the lead role in Wax Dey’s music video for the song Non Non.
Tell us which picture you think should win the contest.
Contact: calabashent@gmail.com
View excerpts of the photo contest episode:
