The Miss South Africa organization was reinvigorated in 2017 when Demi Nel Tebow won Miss Universe and again in 2019 when Zozi Tuni won, making her the first black woman from South Africa to carry the prestigious title.
Since then, pageant lovers have had their eyes on South Africa because of the strong women we send to compete internationally. In 2018 and 2022, South Africa came close to clinching the title when both Tamryn Green and Lalela Mswane placed in the top 3.
When Lalela won the title of Miss South Africa in 2021, many were excited for the law graduate, however, when it was revealed that she would be traveling to Israel to compete in Miss Universe, many urged her not to go there because of the conflict with Palestine, however, their pleas were not met, she went ahead and competed.
When Lalela got back home from Israel with the second runner-up title, she spoke about how she felt with people not supporting her decision, the beauty said, "I'll never comprehend what I did to make people feel justified in their actions. You don't have to be for me but you don't have to be against me. You don't have to wish death on me because I made a choice. I never initiated any war. This is way bigger than me. All I did was just pursue a dream of mine."
It seems like Miss South Africa is doing a do-over, a couple of months ago, they announced that the ballet dancer would be going to Poland to try and win the Miss Supranational title, a title that has never been won by any South African.
In 2021, Dr. Thato Mosehla placed in the top 5 when she participated in the competition.
Taking to Instagram, the Miss South Africa organization revealed Lalela's look for the upcoming pageant leaving many fans wowed with her transformation. The starlet is getting more support this time around and South Africans are rallying behind her.
One of Lalela's advocacies is fighting the unemployment crisis in South Africa and the Kwazulu Natal beauty has been achieving that dream.
A couple of weeks ago, Shudu Musinda competed in the Miss World pageant in Puerto Rico. Although she did not win the grand prize, the mental health advocate managed to bag a spot in the top 13.
The beauty who is very passionate about mental health uses her platform to educate people on the importance of taking one's mental health seriously. In 2021, Shudu became an author when she released her first book which is a children's book, titled 'Shudu Finds Her Magic.' The book was written to help kids with their mental health and teach them more about bullying and speaking up at all times.
In a radio interview on 947, Shudu opened up to tell Anele Mdoda about how her experience of being bullied as a child inspired her to write the book, "I wanted a book that would basically tell the story," she said.
There you have it folks, beauty pageants are not just surface level, they drive real change.
