Nozipho Mashaba is a Miss Bachelorette finalist

The 25-year-old Nozipho Mashaba is one of the 16 finalists for Miss Bachelorette South Africa 2020. She was born and raised in Ha-Kutama Tshikwarani.

Miss Bachelorette South Africa is a women’s empowerment project that is presented in the format of a pageant. Its main aim is to give unmarried, mature women recognition and honour through philanthropy, fashion and beauty. This is the only pageant in South Africa that focuses on women between the ages of 25 and 50, who are unmarried (with or without children) to serve as role models.

For Mashaba, women’s empowerment is an important part of her life. "I started mentoring young girls to help them boost their self-esteem, do beauty pageants, public speaking, debate and stand their own ground from a young age. I always strive to empower them to be better people in society," Mashaba said.

She is incensed about the bad lifestyle of the youth in the villages. "Young girls and boys are indulging very much in alcohol. The environment doesn’t look the same anymore. No one cares what tomorrow brings anymore, all they care about is where the next bash is. The hope that I left when I went to varsity is no longer there. Many of my peers have given up on their dreams and aspirations. I cried so much, because as much as I try to empower kids from my community, I realised a lot still needed to be done," she said.

When she saw what Miss Bachelorette South Africa was all about, she decided to go for it. "The main aim for me is to prove to the kids in my society that your dreams are valid as long as you believe in them. Through the Miss Bachelorette journey, I have realised that it's not just my community that is suffering, but the entire country. Women and children are being kidnapped, murdered, and trafficked every day. It is no safer to be a woman in South Africa than it is in Sudan with bombs dropping everywhere," she said.

Through this pageant, she aims to bring change and she has started an initiative called #YouAreSafeWithMe in which she wants to focus not only on girls but also on boys. "A girl child goes to school, church and town scared because they don’t know if they will make it home safe. I aim to bring back the spirit of Ubuntu that we once had as a country. The initiative aims to empower both girls and boys to create an environment that gives the next person satisfaction to say you are safe with me. We need to work together as a society to bring about the change we want to see."

To sponsor her through this journey, contact her on 084 573 9075 or at
[email protected]. To vote for her, SMS: MBSA Nozipho to 33282. The final will be held on April 25 in Polokwane.

News - Date: 09 February 2020

Mbulaheni Ridovhona

The 22-year-old Mbulaheni (Gary) Ridovhona has been passionate about journalism to the extent that he would buy himself a copy of weekly Univen students' newsletter, Our Voice. After reading, he would write stories about his rural village, Mamvuka, and submit them to the very newsletter for publication. His deep-rooted love for words and writing saw him register for a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies at the University of Venda, and joined the Limpopo Mirror team in February 2016 as a journalism intern.

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