Uganda will not be represented at this year’s Face of Africa beauty contest taking place in South Africa. This is because its candidates have been disqualified for being too fat.

Organisers of the Face of Africa competition say the maximum hip size for entrants must be 36 inches, as the winner will be signed on by a New York modelling agency.

Ugandan designers say women there do not aspire to western standards of beauty and have described the disqualification of the fat women as an insult.

Designer Sylvia Owori says Ugandans want something they can relate to adding that if one is skinny, people might think she has AIDS. The competition is scheduled to be held in Sun City, South Africa and will feature 24 finalists from 19 countries. One of the judges, Jan Malan says he is baffled by the fashion industry's obsession with small hips.

He however, explained that because the organisers want the girls to succeed and to see African models working internationally, they cannot help but provide the fashion designers what they want.