Growing up, Sinovuyo Buzwayo was told that curvy girls couldn’t enter beauty pageants and she believed this.
In 2016, she pulled out of a pageant as the 20-year-old lacked confidence and had low self-esteem.
However, the Libode-born youth from Goss Mafini village, a second-year law student at Walter Sisulu University in Mthatha, was crowned as the Miss OR Tambo young women pageant winner on Friday.
Now she wants to break the stereotype of beauty pageants.
When Buzwayo was announced the winner she cried and said she was surprised even to be in the top five.
“I felt like I did not answer the questions that were posed to me, but I had confidence,” she said.
“When I was announced as the winner I was happy and excited, but I know that it comes with a lot of responsibilities. In the bootcamp we were groomed to be a beacon of hope for our communities.”
And she said she was equal to the task.
“I have a strong personality. I will use my communicating skills and try to reach out to the youth and build confidence in them so that they can step out of their comfort zones and follow their dreams.”
Buzwayo said there were many challenges for girls who wanted to enter pageants.
“We need to change the idea that beauty pageants are only for skinny people.
“It’s about the confidence and promotion of beauty with brains,” she said.
Buzwayo, who was also crowned first princess in the Miss Nyandeni pageant, has entrepreneurial skills and often does promotion work to support herself.
“As young people we need to work for ourselves and not wait for validation from people.”
She said her family supported her. “My mother designed the clothes for me for all the pageants I’ve participated in.”
The second princess was Pamela Tshona, 20, from Qumbu while Lutsha Mdemka, 20, from Mthatha was voted first princess. Chulekazi Mxundulu, 21, from Port St Johns took the crown for Miss Personality.
OR Tambo District Municipality mayor Nomakhosazana Meth said the pageant aimed to build the capacity of women at an early age.
“Generally beauty pageants by their very nature are competitions based on the physical beauty of their contestants, but Miss OR Tambo is different as it incorporates personality and talent,” she said...