My aunt is a gorgeous model from Johannesburg, the most badass animal activist I know, and my fellow Miss South Africa enthusiast. Every year, we chat back and forth about our favourite contestants, and every year without fail, Aunty Jan picks the girl who wins.
I’ve always been a bit morally conflicted about the whole shindig, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Robyn Simpson. I find the entire notion of a beauty pageant nauseating. There is so much more to value in women and in people than whose cheekbones are the most fetched or whose booty wobbles the least on a runway.
I suppose I can’t be too critical when it comes to pageants. A bunch of blokes crashing into each other to get a ball over a try line managed to bring an entire nation together.
There is an undeniable sense of pride that fills my chest when I see a South African queen embody all that it means to be woman take the stage. And more often than not, our local contestants in particular, have incredible stories of hope and resilience to share.
A young Miss South Africa hopeful took to Facebook to share her story, and I can’t help but get all excited to follow her journey (with my trusty wing woman, Aunty Jan, of course).
22-year-old Fikile Cele from Chatsworth, Durban, was abandoned in a box outside a factory shortly after birth. She took to Facebook to speak her truth with hopes that her journey will emphasise that no matter what, life can get better.
Being abandoned early on set the young hopeful up for a life of overcoming challenge after challenge. Cele is a black woman, adopted by an Indian mom, and doesn’t speak a word of isiZulu.
“I was born at the RK Khan’s hospital on the 5th of April 1999 and I was adopted as a two-month-old baby thereafter,” she said on social media.
“All I had in the box was my birth certificate, hence my name.”
The African beauty queen said that her biological mother fell pregnant as a teenager, causing her to flea from Johannesburg to Durban out of fear from her family.
Cele’s birth mother did come to look for her and was given visitation rights by her adoptive mom.
“I don’t remember my biological mother, as she passed away when I was just five-years-old and the only memory I have of her is her funeral.”
One struggle proceeded another for the young woman.
“I was told that I don’t belong here, and as a young child, I also struggled through illness.
“I learned that with God nothing is impossible. When you trust that where you are going is nothing compared to where you are currently, everything works out for your highest good.
“I’m here to tell you that it is okay to be different, okay to be you and that I am worth it and so are you.”
The Miss South Africa contest has become a channel for Cele to draw on her personal power, self-confidence and greatness to advocate for all woman who have felt broken, unseen or unheard, limited or abandoned.
“I am here to be the ripple effect of change and be a beacon of hope for everyone in my community and for young girls like me.
“I hope my story inspires you and just ask of you to listen more and judge less.”
Picture: Instagram /queen_fikile
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