Miss Windhoek 1958: If you want it, go for it

Esther Kavari’s first and last time at a beauty pageant was on 20 November 1958 at Windhoek’s Old Location.

The stage featured 10 contestants, and Kavari, 17 at the time, was armed with only confidence and a smile.

Five judges watched her parade for three rounds.

She was wearing a white gown she had bought for 50c from the N$6 salary she earned as a domestic worker in colonial Namibia, or South West Africa at the time.

Kavari (84) was a resident of the Old Location (now Pionierspark and Hochland Park), before Namibia became independent, and now lives at Epukiro in the Omaheke region.

She recalls what it felt like living in a racially segregated society.

“Times were different then. We were not treated like human beings those days.

My white bosses treated their dog better than me,” she says.

“Apartheid made us feel less than.”

But Kavari says her confidence shone through that evening, and she was crowned Miss Windhoek.