Beauty queen aims to empower deaf women in society

Local beauty queen, Kemmonye Keraetswe, has made Botswana proud after being recently crowned Second Princess Miss Deaf Africa at a competition held in South Africa.

Following her achievement, the 27-year-old princess told Midweek Sun that being in that position is an opportunity that she has long wished for. Keraetswe now aims to   use this opportunity to address and educate deaf women as well as empower them stay confident and chase their dreams.

“Inability is not disability and I am thankful for such an international platform, where I managed to put my country on the map, more especially towards the Golden jubilee celebrations,” she said. Keraetswe believes that her beautiful country is the land of diamonds and now she believes she is one of these rare gems after   doing well in the continental pageant.

“I have observed that the there is a wide gap of communication between the deaf and the hearing in Botswana. Most of the hearing people are not keen to learn Sign Language. That creates communication barrier, therefore I wish to do my best to bring people together and appreciate each other,” stated the Serowe born queen.

She lamented that deaf women go through challenges such as being raped and being denied the right to education and she wishes to address these issues during her reign. Keraetswe started modelling at primary school. However, the talented beauty queen is not only a beauty queen as   she is also a teacher aide and mentor in the Special Education department at Maun Senior Secondary School.