Fatoumata Souma of the Republic of Guinea-Conakry was crowned Miss Africa USA late last month with a platform of raising awareness in the United States about female genital mutilation in Africa. Her platform also promotes the education of girls in Africa.
Souma is a Communications student at Montgomery College in Virginia, according to theMiss Africa USA Pageant. Souma is the first Miss Africa USA to tackle women’s rights in Africa with her pageant platform.
Lady Kate Njeuma, founder of the African Women’s Development Fund established Miss Africa USA in 2005. “In the whole of Africa, women are not free,” Njeuma told The Washington Post. “Because their roles are so defined, even though they have dreams, they are not encouraged to step out and become all the woman they can be.” The goal of the Miss Africa USA Pageant is to “groom a new generation of African women leaders to impact their communities in Africa, America and the rest of the world.”
