“I have a story to tell,” says Rosemary Pawih, the recently crowned Miss Institute of Business Studies University (IBSU).
Pawih has been introduced as the second contestant to enter the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant (MPIP) 2017.
This step by Pawih is not only something new for her, but the bravest she has ever taken.
Taking on the title, Pawih announced that she aims to use the platform to empower survivors of child abuse, just like herself.
“It is not wrong to get out of their shell and speak openly about their rights… that they should not feel ashamed about it, rather report it than keeping it all to themselves and having low self-esteem. “Because I believe it will only make them feel stronger, like how it has made me stronger,” she said.
Speaking to Loop PNG, she admitted that this is the first time she has talked openly about her experience.
Miss IBS is urging others to speak up about it.
“I have the confidence to tell the world that I am a survivor, but I don’t regret anything and I would not want to change my past if I had to,” she says.
“I am who I am because of everything I have been through. That is why I want to be an advocate for women and youth empowerment.”
Pawih thanked her sponsor for the opportunity.
She is studying business at the IBS University, and is enrolled under Southern Cross University degree program in collaboration with IBSU.
Pawih is from Manus Province and is the eldest of four children.
She is calling on other business houses to sponsor interested women, to give them the opportunity to be the voice to women, youth and children.