Kenyan-born Rehema Muthamia opens up on being ‘a black Miss England,’ and racism

The reigning Miss England has admitted that since being crowned, she has endured heinous racial remarks.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, the 26-year-old Rehema Muthamia says despite receiving such a prestigious award, she has since endured horrifying remarks, the most frequent of them being; "How is Miss England black?"

“I am a black Miss England, when you think of Miss England, you don’t think of a black woman, so when I won there were a lot of people that were upset. But as a minority woman in a Western country, you have to understand that you will have to experience racism and unfortunately you get used to it, you just have to understand that you are better than that and that it is coming from a point of ignorance,” she said.

Rehema, who has a Kenyan heritage and spent part of her childhood in Kenya, notes that being Miss England has been an experience she never thought she would ever get an opportunity to be in.

“It has been a journey, it’s an experience I never thought I would have had, I am on a world platform and I have had amazing experiences,” she said.

Growing up in London and Kenya, Rehema had a multicultural experience and only got to experience racism as an adult.

“I was a vibrant outgoing child, they used to call me kasuku. I remember my mother would often ask why do you talk too much? Growing up, my experiences were not difficult, my friends were from Spain, Nigeria and India..I did not feel out of space,” she said.

“I think once you become older, that’s when you realize you are different. Unfortunately, there are people who feel like you do not belong and I felt that progressed the older I got and I became aware that she was different and saw the racism and stereotypes.”

According to Rehema, women of colour and the minority rarely saw themselves represented for a long time but things have changed overtime.

“Now times have progressed so there is more multiracialism in the media, when I have small girls come up to me and they say ‘I see myself in you,’ and they are able to see they can achieve anything they want. Being back home after 13 years is so exciting, it feels nice to see yourself in your people,” she said.