Beulah Marshall - A Pearl Among Women

A Pearl Among Women

MRS. Beulah Marshall says she bubbles with ideas. Apart from being someone you could describe as pleasant of character, Marshall has established herself as a broadcaster, entrepreneur and model manager. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BM Inspired, an umbrella under which she organises Miss Nigeria Trade, African Fashion Show, The Pearls Network, and a non-governmental organisation. She is the Beulah in The Pearl Show which runs on cable television at the moment.
In this chat with The Guardian, Marshall explains that womanhood is precious so she is using every platform within her reach to make women respectable human beings.
“We are there to inspire women to be confident and worthy leaders. We celebrate women who are achievers and we want to harp on the pure qualities of womanhood. Any guest who appears on The Pearl Show departs with a piece of pearl. We want them to wear it at all times, we want them to be mindful that they are special as much as we want them to remember us”.
The Pearls Network, she explains, empowers women. “It is a platform where women are trained to be professional models and make money out of it. In Nigeria, people do not believe that models can be rich, so we are using the likes of Naomi Campbell and Oluchi Orlandi to inspire them to reach for the heights.
“We have trained a couple who are beauty queens and runway models, both in Nigeria and abroad. The Pearls inspire women to be leaders of change,” she enthused.
Change, she says, is not the political phenomenon sweeping through the country at the moment. Rather, it is a change that enables the woman to embrace her role as the bedrock of the society and the pillar of every home, she explains.
“We want to catch them young as entrepreneurs, mothers, wives and partners who are ready for the future. We go to schools where we teach the very young, in the primary schools etiquette and poise.”
The older ones who have left school learn self-reliance when they are taught how to run businesses and entrepreneurship, she pointed out.
“We have organised empowerment programmes for members of the National Youth Service Corps and widows. We celebrated the 2015 International Women’s Day by organising a debate where we discussed vital issues like women in leadership positions. There was a runway fashion show, a raffle draw, and our guests went home with gifts.
“Our observation is that many women do not have the confidence to do what they want they do. They feel that they cannot do it or they feel incapacitated, so we are to give them buffer and tell them they can.”
She informs fans and enthusiasts that there would not be a Miss Nigeria Trade in 2015. The political situation, with the general elections, called for the postponement, she says, adding that the pageant is endorsed by the Ministry of Tourism.
Of the model as a professional in present day Nigeria, Marshall posits that the model is taking a pride of place as she is better regarded now. “Ushers are paid their due fees. The beauty queen is paid for the one year she is on the throne and after she steps down, companies invite her to endorse products and be a brand ambassador.”
Her blog, BM Inspired, she reflects, is inspiring and motivating. “We asked why there should still be issues of violence against women if women are precious. The reason is that some people do not appreciate nature. If you appreciate nature, you would appreciate the source. You would not want to do something against what is made by God Almighty and you would know that what He has made should not be tampered with or abused.”
The solution, she says, is that abusers of womanhood should renew their love of God the creator. “That way, they will learn to respect the women who have crossed their paths.”
Women do a lot of work, she observes with feeling. She does all that house work and still holds a career outside the home. “What bothers a man is 30 per cent less than what worries a man.”
Her advice to women is to love themselves, adding that their wellness will extend to all who come their way. “I want every woman to mentor a younger woman because every boss has his ‘boy’ and any man has a Godfather.
“You the older woman, do you have a ‘girl’? Do you have a Godmother? I think that women mentoring women would make women to understand each other.”
To her, charitable work is a passion, it becomes doubly so because her late father who was a medical doctor was passionate about seeing to the needs of the less privileged. “I see myself as fulfilling his dream. On my own, I want to make an unquantifiable impact that would not be brought down to naira and kobo. I want to make an impact in the lives of women.
Marshall is married to a media practitioner, Mr. Anthony Marshall and of him she says: “He is an immense support. He is a powerful critique. It was difficult at the beginning, but his criticism has made me better at what I do”.