Miss Manchester International Jasmin Gadsden wants to sponsor a Salford woman to get into the “life-changing” world of pageantry.
Jasmin’s work in pageantry has given her many opportunities and experiences and she aims to share this with women and girls in Salford and teach them how rewarding it can be.
She said: “It’s given me so many more opportunities as a woman in the pageant community that I think I wouldn’t have had away from it – speaking to news outlets, modelling opportunities, attending events, representing my title.”
Jasmin is now planning to sponsor a Salford girl’s entry fee into pageantry.
She explained: “This is where I started. I moved to Salford and Salford became my home. So I would like to give back in a way as much as I can.
“To enter Miss International United Kingdom, it’s £295 so it’s a lot of money, and not everyone has that kind of money to enter pageants, but pageants are life-changing.”
“The moment I went into pageantry, I didn’t want to get out of it.”
She will be taking part in the International Women’s Day workshop on March 7 at Salford Youth Zone, teaching interview skills, improv, and using equipment such as microphones and cameras.
She says pageantry is not how it is depicted in films and TV, and has changed a lot since it was all about beauty.
She said: “Back in the ’70s, it was all about beauty standards, how tall you were, how slim you were, if you were the perfect pageant queen whereas now it’s a lot more to do with advocacy, being a voice for the people who don’t have one.”
Since 2023, Miss International UK has raised more than £13,800 for A-Sisterhood, a women-based charity that helps to support women all across the world facing issues like domestic violence, FGM and acid attacks.
As part of her own campaigning and advocacy, Jasmin has also raised £562 for Cancer Research.
At the moment, she is appealing for Easter donations for Manchester Children’s Hospital. So far, she has 77 Easter eggs, as well as some colouring books, and chocolate bunnies.
Jasmin hopes that the work done by pageant contestants and companies can be recognised.
“It’s a very Americanised thing but it does happen here in the UK and it deserves to be awarded, because we just do so much.”
Alongside the charity work and advocacy, Jasmin is also one of the few female journalists in the boxing world. She hopes to shed light on the issues in male-dominated sports and show young women, particularly in Salford, that it is possible to be in these spaces.
