Annual event marred by accusations of bullying, backstabbing and racism as women’s leaders call for pageant to be scrapped

The South Pacific nation of Tonga is in uproar after its annual beauty pageant was marred by accusations of bullying, backstabbing and racism, prompting calls by women’s rights leaders for the pageant industry to be abandoned altogether.

The country’s Miss Heilala pageant descended into chaos on Friday when the outgoing winner had her microphone cut in the middle of a speech and another woman was allegedly racially abused while delivering the keynote speech.

At the annual event, at which one young female contestant is crowned Miss Heilala and becomes Tonga’s contender for the Miss South Pacific pageant, the outgoing winner gave a speech detailing alleged bullying and lack of support from the competition’s organisers over the last year that left her “a shell of a person”.

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Kalo Funganitao, who is a law student at Auckland University, said she and her mother were “cheated, lied to, backstabbed and just generally mistreated” during her tenure, though she did not specify exactly what happened to her.

Shortly after she started criticising the pageant, Funganitao’s microphone was cut and loud music was played over the top of her speech. Despite the fact she could no longer be heard by the crowd, some of whom were jeering, Funganitao yelled: “I am not done!” and continued speaking, as her mother and brother joined her onstage.

“Enough is enough and I will not tolerate any more fakeness!” she said. “If you have the guts to attack a person as a group in such a cowardly way, then you can deal with the consequences when she shares her experience with the entire world!”

A statement released on behalf of Tonga Tourism Association said it was “regretful” that Funganitao “chose to publicly air concerns harboured over the past year”.

The fiery scene was not the only moment of drama of the night. The special guest at the event, Leoshina Mercy Kariha, who won the Miss South Pacific pageant in December, was reported to be the subject of a racist attack yelled from the crowd during her keynote speech.

While Kariha, who comes from Papua New Guinea, was speaking, a member of the crowd reportedly yelled that she was “black, ugly and disgusting”.

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In a statement after the event, Kariha confirmed that “a comment by one individual in the VIP area was made – and that is something that is never nice to hear.” But she said that since her arrival in Tonga she had been treated “with so much dignity and respect”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Miss South Pacific pageant winner Leoshina Mercy Kariha responds on Facebook to reports that she was the subject of a racist attack while giving her keynote speech.

In a statement, the festival and Tonga Tourism Association said: “The audience’s alleged bullying and racist reaction to the speech from Miss Pacific Islands, as well as to that of the former Miss Heilala is deeply regretted”, adding they “did not condone any form of bullying or racism and takes this allegation very seriously.”

Women’s rights leaders from across the Pacific said a rethink of the entire pageant industry was needed.

“The whole issue of bullying, sexual harassment … has been ongoing throughout [the history of the pageants],” said Shamima Ali, the director of Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre.

Ali said the pageants encouraged the objectification of women and there were other platforms that could encourage female empowerment that did not involve women competing with one another on their beauty.

“And then the whole idea of beauty, it’s the western idea of beauty,” she said. “You don’t get Pacific women who have big bottoms and big breasts and are a different colour. Usually the preferred is the fairer woman with the slim body and straighter hair and made up to the nines, it’s really not the Pacific idea.”

Betty Blake, director of the NGO Ma’a Fafine Moe Famili Tonga, said the beauty pageant had “had its day”.

“It’s gone out of date, we shouldn’t do that any more ... To me, as a gender advocate I believe it’s not fair, it doesn’t treat our girls properly and give them the dignity and the respect,” she said. “If you look at it, it’s almost like the program is exploiting young girls, but in a manner that might be looked at as OK.”

Both Blake and Ali said there were huge issues facing women in Pacific nations, which have some of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world, that should be the focus of gendered activities, rather than pageants.

“There are more important issues,” Ali said. “The time is up for this.”