Since 2020, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VII has capped Women’s Month celebrations with a search for Miss Juana among the residents of the Regional Haven for Women, a facility that temporarily serves disadvantaged and abused women, as well as girl-victim survivors.
The Miss Juana search has become an annual event that highlights the residents’ personalities, talents, wits, and stories of resilience while they are in the center.
In its third edition, the pageant became a collaborative advocacy work of the three centers and residential care facilities (CRCFs) of DSWD-7, namely the Area Vocational Rehabilitation Center II (AVRC II), Home for Girls (HFG), and Regional Haven for Women (RHW), in the promotion of the new 5-year theme “WE for Gender Equality and an Inclusive Society”.
The theme inspired the three CRCFs to converge and include residents and clients of the other CRCFs to vie for the title of Miss Juana.
While a pageant is supposed to be considered a search for an ideal standard of beauty, Miss Juana looks for an inclusive beauty that will best represent a woman facing adversity. It shares a common thread among the contestants – they all share a reflection of an individual’s courage and willingness to rise to the challenges of life.
Organizers hope that the pageant will shed light on the role of women residents and clients in the pursuit of individual development despite the challenges they face while they are in the crucial rehabilitation phase inside the facilities.
The pageant was held at the Home for Girls covered court on March 29, 2023, with six contestants, two from each center, vying for the title of Miss Juana 2023.
Segments of the competition include a production number, a fashion show, a talent show, a long gown competition, a Q&A, and an intermission number from the centers.
During the fashion show, contestants proudly showed off their catwalk skills by wearing a career uniform that they would want to wear in the future. When they entered the Q&A portion, they were asked how their stay in the centers transformed them into the women they imagined themselves to be.
Center Head for AVRC II, Mr. Graeme Ferdinand D. Armecin said “While it is true that we continue to champion women’s rights, we also have to show this into an actual advocacy that promotes gender development, but most importantly, create a platform where women will really feel confident, strong, and brave to face the adversities of life.”
During his welcome message, he underscores the significance of purple being associated with femininity, which can also represent royalty. For him, each of the candidates is a queen of their own, regardless of the past and present situations that led them to the centers. Armecin hopes that through this pageant, they may learn to rise and emerge victorious in life.
Juana 5, a hearing-impaired candidate from the AVRC II, shared that her disability is not a hindrance to pursuing whatever career path she would like to take and that it gives her strength to find meaning in her life with the opportunities she received from the center. Juana 4, a resident of the Home For Girls and a victim-survivor, tells everyone through her chosen uniform that she dreams of protecting herself and others when she becomes a policewoman someday.
At the end of the pageant, Juana 1 emerged victorious as she spoke with confidence and hoped to become an inspiration for all women, showing that no matter how difficult a challenge can be, a woman can stand still and be strong with her head held high to face any adversities that come their way.
For Ananisa Aviso, the DSWD-7 focal person for the women’s sector, the pageant sets the tone for women’s empowerment in an environment where residents and clients focus on rehabilitation. “We want to teach them that there is no limit to what they can do. They just have to take the first step to come out confidently, and they will be surprised by the possibilities that await them,” she said.
The Miss Juana pageant has since served as a venue to highlight women and a way to discuss the commitment of DSWD to improve the well-being of the residents and clients they served in the centers and hopes to reinvigorate transformation from their current situations. ###
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