Miss SA 2020 Shudufhadzo: 'God always changes the narrative, and I'm proof of that'

Channel Graye Morkel

Shudufhadzo Musida was crowned Miss South Africa 2020 in Cape Town on Saturday.
The 24-year-old, who comes from Ha-Masia in Limpopo, has a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Pretoria.
She will receive R1 million in cash as well as a further R2 million worth of sponsorships and prizes, including the use of a luxury Sandton apartment and a Mercedes-Benz cabriolet for a year.

Shudufhadzo Musida was crowned Miss South Africa 2020 in Cape Town on Saturday.

For the first time in Miss South Africa history, the grand finale took place in the Mother City at The Table Bay hotel.

Miss South Africa 2019 Sasha-Lee Olivier crowned Shudufhadzo at the closed event, broadcast to thousands of people around the world.

Shudufhadzo Musida (24) comes from Ha-Masia in Limpopo and has a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Pretoria. She is currently doing her BA Honours in International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand.

She will receive R1 million in cash as well as a further R2 million worth of sponsorships and prizes, including the use of a luxury Sandton apartment and a Mercedes-Benz cabriolet for a year.

First runner-up was medical doctor Thato Mosehle (25) from Klerksdorp in the North West who received R250 000 in cash. Second runner-up, Natasha Joubert (23), a B Com graduate from Pretoria, Gauteng, collected R100 000.

In her acceptance speech, Shudufhadzo said: "It took an entire village to get me here, and I would like to thank all of you for being my village. I stand here today as your Miss South Africa with immense pride and joy to be representing such a beautiful nation - one of the first Venda women, but certainly not the last - to become Miss South Africa.

"I stand here as an advocate for educational and economic empowerment of women and children and mental health awareness -- honoured to be an ambassador of this beautiful nation."

Speaking to Miss South Africa 2018 Tamaryn Green backstage, just moments after being crowned the winner, Shudufhadzo said: "I am still trying to process it all because it doesn't feel real. When they said my name, I said, 'no', maybe I didn't hear that correctly."

When asked about her message to the world, she said: "Your dreams are valid."

She elaborated further, saying: "Sometimes you think that where you come from actually defines what your future will look like. I remember actually before the finale, all I could think about was when I was eight sitting in front of my grandfather's TV and I used to look at Miss South Africa thinking to myself: 'Will I ever reach that?' But then you limit yourself because of your surroundings, and you limit yourself because of your background. But God always changes the narrative, and I'm proof of that."

Shudufhadzo hopes to use her platform to advocate for mental health awareness, saying: "I want to make sure that every single person in the country doesn't get sidelined because they suffer from mental health."

She adds: "I am proof right now that you can suffer from mental health illnesses and actually come out on the other side."

When asked how the crown feels on her head, Shudufhadzo excitedly replies, without hesitation: "It's actually the right weight and the right size."

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