3 EC women make it to Mrs SA semis
Three Eastern Cape women were selected and sashed as semi-finalists at the Tammy Taylor Mrs South Africa 2019 Beauty Pageant held at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg last week.
Two Komani-born women, Golela Ben-Mazwi Shasha and Shirley Jones, and Port Elizabeth-born Olwethu Nodada, are among the group of women who were selected to go through to the next round of prestigious women to battle it out for the top title.
Pageant co-ordinator Marlene Reddy said of the effort to empower married women aged between 25 to 49: “Mrs South Africa is the number one pageant and female empowerment programme for married women in South Africa.
“It is not a beauty pageant in the traditional sense of the word.
“Mrs South Africa delegates are mature, driven, ambitious and most of all real, relatable women who strive to be the best versions of themselves.
“They are wives, in some cases mothers, some are entrepreneurs and most are changemakers. Some are business women and others home-makers. But they all want the best for their families and their community. They are brave, bona fide (authentic) superwomen.”
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch this week, Ben-Mazwi Shasha said she was thrilled to have made it so far in the competition.
“This has been a dream come true for me and something I have always wanted to be a part of.
“It just resonates so well with who I am and what I want to become. Growing up I have always been passionate about beauty and have always participated in pageants from high school,” she said.
Shasha said she had been selected to judge at several schools throughout the years as she was known for her passion for pageants.
“It's not just about looking good and modelling. It’s a great platform to educate other women about themselves and how to balance their lives in being a wife, mother and a career woman, which is why I entered the competition.
“I felt taking part would help me find myself and it has. It's given me a different perception of life, to not just worry about my business, children or husband, but to put myself first and to make time to empower myself and also play a role in my community,” she said.
Shasha said she, together with her “sisters”, had long been active in community development. They had hosted mentorship programmes for young women and distributed food parcels to less-privileged communities.
“Aubrey Nkomo, my uncle, has been a great inspiration to me. He was a giver and, growing up with him, we learnt to do the same,” she said.
Several attempts to get hold of Nodada and Jones were unsuccessful.
However, on March 5 Nodada posted on Facebook: “At the start of the year, I sat with my husband Litha Nodada and we mapped out our goals for 2019. In our lengthy and honest chat, we agreed that it was time to chase down my dreams, time to chase all the things that would bring out my light, chase my passions and chase (making a) meaningful impact on the lives of those I encounter. I decided to enter the Tammy Taylor Mrs SA pageant, to claim me.”
She said she wanted to use the event to allow young girls to re-imagine their “power and beauty and strength”.
On Jones’s Facebook images, she is seen with Cathcart High pupils teaching a life orientation lesson.
It’s a great platform to educate women about themselves and how to balance their lives