Kiwanda: My participation in Miss Curvy was entirely about celebrating beauty

State Minister for Tourism Kiwanda Godfrey on Wednesday appeared before Parliament over the controversial Miss Curvy contest.

During the launch of the contest, Kiwanda described curvy Ugandan women as 'tourist attractions' -- a statement that caused a lot of uproars.

The minister said in Parliament he agreed to launch the contest to 'tap into the potential of these women'.

"My participation at the launch of Miss Curvy was misinterpreted since my focus was more to support beauty standards with our native cultural preferences and not using curvy women as tourist attractions," Kiwanda is quoted as saying. "I never said that and I would never even think about it. I feel strongly that women, just like men should not be taken as commodities."

Kiwanda reiterated that Miss Curvy contest is like any other pageant but for 'slightly bigger women' than the usual ones.

A woman launched an online campaign petitioning the government to halt the contest arguing that it objectifies and degrades women.