Slumming it for a voice

PAGEANT: TOUCH OF GLAMOUR IN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT ALSO A CHANCE TO PROTEST

- 

A stone's throw from Kenya's largest informal settlement, a young woman glides down a spotlit catwalk, her delicate white dress at odds with the fake blood splattered across it and the tape covering her lips reading: "Stop, silence, gender-based violence."

The annual Mr and Ms Kibera pageant in Nairobi, gleefully attended by hundreds, is about more than just the contestants' looks — it provides a much-needed platform for protest.

For many of those taking part, the cool August evening was a chance to voice support for youth-led demonstrations and freedom of speech, or to condemn violence against women.