Miss SA 2020 Shudufhadzo Musida credits Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi’s black girl magic for inspiring her to enter the pageant.
The 24-year-old from HaMasia village in Venda has never taken part in beauty pageants before being crowned Miss SA at the weekend in Cape Town.
Musida did so proudly rocking her beautiful bald head. “Zozibini opened the door and I simply walked through it. I think she paved the way for a lot of us when she said ‘see your face reflected in mine’. I saw my face reflected through hers and that’s the reason I’m sitting here,” Musida said.
“It goes a long way to show girls that look like me and Zozi that it’s possible for you to sit on such a platform; to be seen and heard; and you are beautiful in every aspect.”
Musida first shaved her head in 2015. “I really don’t attach much importance to my hair. I believe beauty is much more than your hair or skin. Beauty is more inner than anything else,” Musida said.
She described the first nine years of her life growing up in HaMasia as “the best of my life”. She was last there two weeks ago to visit her grandfather.
Musida’s mom Thandi, 42, is a real estate agent. Her younger sister Zwonka, 13, is in Grade 8. “The one thing I have always wanted to do was to make my mom proud and to hear her say it last night meant everything,” Musida said.
“My mom has always encouraged me to follow my dreams and has never boxed me. My younger sister is very proud of me too and all she asked for was that I fetch her from school.”
Musida holds a bachelor of social sciences in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Pretoria and is currently reading for her BA Honours in international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand.
“My grandmother’s dying wish was for me to finish school and I’m very happy that I did,” she said.
Musida said her reign will focus on advocating for mental health issues. “I want to leave a legacy of change. I want to be a representation of the resilience and beauty that exists in this country,” she said
“I want to open conversations about mental health. I want to stop the narrative of not wanting to rehabilitate.
“I think mental health, especially now after Covid-19, is a necessary conversation and initiative. At this stage, people have lost jobs and loved ones ... you can only imagine the emotional turmoil. It’s time we rebuild our society with compassion for one another.”
Musida emerged as an early favourite to win the title and was voted into the top 10 by SA. She will get R1m in cash and R2m worth of sponsorships and prizes as part of her win. “People saw the potential that I had and it was beautiful for them to recognise it. I’m blessed to be surrounded by so much love,” Musida said.
“I always say it took an entire village to get me here. When I won last night I felt like I was standing on a mountain of prayers.”
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