Pretoria - Beauty and brains, spunk and fashion are only some of the labels two Pretoria women take into the contest for Miss South Africa, where they will join 28 other national hopefuls for the crown and a chance to make it into international competitions.
Natasha Joubert and Hestie Jooste, both 25, threw their names into the hat, to emerge this week as among the top 30 finalists who could become Miss South Africa later this year.
In the reveal made on Wednesday night, the Miss South Africa organisers said the women saw Gauteng leading with nine contestants – two from Pretoria, followed by the Western Cape with five. KwaZulu-Natal has four, while three contestants represent the Eastern Cape and three North West.
The Northern Cape and Limpopo each have two contestants, and Mpumalanga and Free State bring one in the top 30.
But the locals said they felt they stood a good chance of winning.
Natasha holds a BCom in Marketing Management and is the owner and fashion designer of the company
Natalia Jefferys, which she started when she was 19. She said she has never let her circumstances define her future, and wants to enable others to learn independence and create their own narrative.
She has tried her hand at pageants, winning Miss Globe South Africa and being placed in the same pageant before. She also won Miss Rivonia 2018, was a Miss South Africa 2020 second runner-up, “and I entered Miss Universe in 2020 as Miss Universe South Africa”, she said.
“Always have your personal challenges. We easily forget that this is a process of upliftment, and only focusing on the crown and not the daily successes is where you can easily compare yourself, not have compassion for yourself and ultimately have self-doubt about your abilities,” she said, adding that this was her motto.
The youngest of three siblings spoke on the inclusivity of the pageant. She opened up about her challenges as a child, among them losing her family home when she was 13 and her father being unemployed since she was 12.
“Losing my father at the age of 16 … at a young age I had to learn independence. Not only for overcoming the challenges, but because I have built my voice to speak for others. This is a platform for people to feel seen. Because stories unite one another.”
This year the rules have changed, to allow married women and those with children to enter, and, said local woman Hestie, it was important that every single person felt like they could see themselves on screen.
“We need to diversify and include as much as we can to accommodate and cater to everyone who is viewing,” said the model and junior financial advisor.
She is big on community work and is currently assisting her community with their financial portfolios.
She came across as confident and charismatic, and said she never shied away from a challenge.
Pretoria News