“I think the most important thing we should be teaching young girls today is leadership, it’s something that has been lacking in young girls and women for a very long time, not because we don’t want to, but because of what society has labeled women to be, I think we are the most powerful beings in the world and that we should be given every opportunity and that is what we should be teaching these young girls to take up space, nothing is important as taking up space in society and cementing yourself”.
(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
This is the speech that summoned Oprah Winfrey to her vision with Oprah extending an invitation to her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
The venue was quickly filled with the crowd’s roar of excitement followed by applause after answering the posed question. This speech, amongst other things, managed to secure Zozibini Tunzi her former Miss Universe title while at the same time reaching a new milestone and breaking records in history of beauty pageant as the first black woman and as the third woman from South Africa to be crowned Miss Universe. Another milestone is being amongst the five black women to hold major pageant titles during this era, with Toni-Ann Singh as Miss World; Nia Franklin, Miss America; Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA; and Kaliegh Garris as Miss Teen USA. On X, Demi-Leigh, former Miss Universe from South Africa welcomed the beauty pageant queen to the sisterhood circle saying, “South Africa, we did it again, we did it again, Zozi, we are so proud of you, welcome to the Miss Universe sisterhood.”
Embracing HER Natural beauty.
Photo by: Mgosi
In a then new added “Closing Statement” element on the competition as another opportunity to convince the panelists on whether they are deserving of the title, as part of the top three, Zozi graced the stage wearing a custom Biji La Maison de Couture beaded evening gown and rocking her natural fade. She said the decision to go natural was never a strategic move, but rather just being herself. This move highlighted her advocacy for representation as she made it known that how she looked did not meet the set standard of beauty in South Africa, saying “I want children to look at me and my face, and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine”.
In an interview with signaturebride when asked to elaborate of that issue, Zozi mentioned how the western beauty standard has negatively impacted African women saying small waist, small hips, fair skin and soft hair are not of common traits for African women. Redefining beauty Zozi said, “Beauty is subjective; there’s no measurement for it, and there’s no one way to be beautiful. Because of that, anyone can be beautiful. I don’t think we can define beauty because that is where beauty stereotypes are born. Beauty can be anything- it comes in every shape, form, color, and size”.
Gender equality
“I take strength from those women. I found it as my responsibility to do the same for the next generation of women”.
A huge advocate for gender equality, she draws her inspiration from the likes of Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu, Bertha Gxowa, Motlalepula Chabuku, Sophia De Bruyn, Rahima Moosa and the 20,000 anti-apartheid women who marched to the Union Building in Pretoria to protest the apartheid-era pass law Act of 1952 that required black people over the age of 16 to carry a dompass, which translated to “dumb pass”.
Zozi took note of the influence her voice had and still has in driving social change and because of that she has taken advantage of her major social media presence to spark more conversations around breaking down gender roles while advocating for women to take up space, particularly in positions of power. “for me awareness is a great thing, we take for granted how awareness can, you know, move a message much further... I think as Miss Universe I have such a huge platform. Making people aware of it [gender equality] and then trying to find solutions on how we can shorten the gap between, you know, men and women and making sure we get to a place where we are all equals. So, my part to play really is just speaking about it as much as I can until the right kind of people listen, until people’s mindsets change about how to do things.”
“Women are an endangered species.”
Wave of Love costume. Photo: Miss SA/X
Another issue close to her heart is gender-based violence. Coming from South Africa, a country that its president has described the issue of gender-based violence as another “pandemic”, she has also made it her responsibility to advocate for the end of it but doing so at a universal level. Zozi took the initiative two years later after her crowning using her voice and the Miss Universe platform (UP FRONT) to speak on gender-based violence and unpacking its layers. The platform and the space felt safe enough that one of the two women from the 2021 Miss Universe contestants that are sexual violence survivors [Miss Haiti] that joined Zozi on the conversion decided to open up about her two incidents of falling victim to sexual abuse by members that are supposed to be of prominence in society.
Her strong advocacy for women issues had been visible before her Miss Universe crowning. In collaboration with the United Nations solidarity campaign #HeForShe as Miss South Africa, she invited men to write love letters in appreciation for South African women as a way of taking a stand against gender-based violence. Honoring her wish, Zozi wore the “Wave of Love” costume with messages of love from South African men “adorned” in it as part of the campaign. A dressed designed by Lloyd Kandlin of The Costume Department.
“Gender based violence is a huge issue across the whole world, especially against women at the hands of men, women are abused, raped and killed every day in ridiculous numbers, I can go as far as saying women are an endangered species, we have cried, we have begged, pleaded, protested and yet it seems that all our cries are falling on deaf ears”. In her effort to fight gender-based violence, she falls conscious on the eradication of the issue being possible with a unified community, pleading to men on educating other young men on how to be a “good man” and show them how a woman is supposed to be treated in society.
Interesting facts
Photo: Lulamile Feni
She has lived up to the saying “apple does not fall far from the trees”. Born in a family of Educators, Zozi’s mother, Philiswa Nodapu, is a school principal at Bangiwe Junior Secondary School at Bolotwa village in the Eastern Cape. Her father, Lungisa Tunzi, works at the Department of Higher Education and Training in Pretoria. The Sidwadweni born beauty queen holds a National diploma in Public Relations from Cape Peninsula University of Technology and before being crowned Miss South Africa she was also pursing her Bachelor of Technology degree in Public relations Management at the same institution while working as an intern graduate at the international advertising, marketing and public relations agency, Ogilvy.
Her passion to educate goes beyond the Miss Universe title as she plans to launch the Zozibini Tunzi Foundation at her personal capacity to continue fighting for women, children, and education. She is also dedicated to change the perception that people have about beauty pageant.
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