The Queen will compete in India in March, representing South Africa for a month
Wearing a sash as the first Miss World South Africa under the theme of ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ is a befitting feat for the 24-year-old Dr. Claude Mashego whose mission in life has always been about making a difference.
The reigning queen was crowned last October in Pretoria’s State Theatre and will be representing Mzansi on the global India stages this coming March, with eyes firmly set on the big prize.
But it doesn’t start or end there for the queen. Through her non-profit company that she has been running for over a year, dubbed The Young Leaders Network, the work has already begun for the young doctor to inspire young people across the continent to step up and be the leaders that our generation desperately needs.
The Young Leadership Network, which she runs together with two other women, is mainly focused on assembling young people and, through mentorship, raising up leaders in South Africa and in the African diaspora who will stand up and make a difference. Building a network of change.
And what better way to do it while looking good—using this platform to further advocate for this mission.
The beauty queen hails from a small township in Bushbuckridge’s Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, and although she actively started participating in pageants in grade 11, the dream of being influential has always been there.
“The combination of a beauty pageant that speaks to humanitarian work is exactly what resonated with me—being inspired by women right through my life. My maternal grandmother, a leader in her own right, wasn’t a typically educated woman, but I saw how she single-handedly raised eight children while her husband was sick. She had to make sure that her children were graduates, and then when we—the grandchildren—came along, she drilled excellence in us. That, on its own, taught me a lot about leadership and how we women are loaded beyond just our looks with so much greatness.”
That ignited a passion to step into leadership positions for change, and while her story is riddled with a lot of female presence, Dr. Mashego does not take away from the position men hold in this equation of life and leadership.
“The caliber of women that I have associated with through this pageant, I believe, marks the beginning of the most powerful legacy of our time. Women who are redefining pageantry from not only being about looks but being about an even bigger impact, taking the conversation much deeper and demanding to be heard and seen for more than what people claim we are,” said Dr. Mashego.
The Miss World platform was established in 1952 by Julia Morley, launching the Beauty With A Purpose wing of the pageant 20 years later with the intention of deepening the work of development within societies while still looking fabulous as ever.
Last year, our very own serial entrepreneur Carol Bouwer was announced as the new license holder for Miss World South Africa, which marks the beginning of more visibility on what Beauty with a Purpose is all about.
For a month, Dr. Mashego will represent South Africa in India, with an array of activities lined up leading up to the crowning of the ultimate queen.
And with the many responsibilities on her shoulders, our reigning queen shares that being a doctor was never a hurdle to achieving more of her dreams and hopes this polarity in worlds indicates the possibilities of achieving anything one sets their mind to, saying: “It’s about showing up in excellence everywhere.”
“Leadership equates influence, and my sole purpose is to shake up young people to realise the power we have to change the world now. To influence any young woman in any sphere to see their own potential to bring change to our societies,” she said.
“Our NPC aims to produce a high calibre of human beings—both male and female—through collective character-building exercises for gender equality. To do so, everyone must be included in the conversation.”
Perfectly aligned, the Beauty with a Purpose platform is not fixated on the exterior but believes that beauty is within and highlights the humanitarians in our society who are always looking to do more. This aspect alone has been able to break many pageant barriers, with Carol Bouwer definitely creating history and magic in one.
“When you look at a lot of the pageants, in order to be considered, a lot of criteria is placed on you, including needing to be tall, have this and that. What we said was that 30% of the marks would be based on what these incredible young women are currently doing in their communities, and through that, we met the most incredible ladies (from 53 right down to 12),” said Tanya Mayat, the head of marketing for Miss World SA.
“Miss World really does open doors and is a sisterhood. She (Mashego) will be guided and supported right through, but we need our country to rally behind her, especially since this is the first time we have had Beauty with a Purpose.
“The movement exists at a time when women do believe in taking care of themselves, without a doubt, but now we also need to focus on purpose. Focus on impact, change, and upliftment,” added Tanya, with Dr. Mashego adding that Beauty with a Purpose is about lifting as you rise.
“It starts there, and as daunting as it might sound when we use words such as purpose, it really starts in your backyard, with your family or neighbour. Who are you lifting, making somebody feel seen and identifying meaningful moments of change. We all have it in us. We are beautiful and have a purpose,” she adds.