Queen reigns on the Plain
ELEGANT: Pageant at Highlands Primary School. Picture supplied
Mitchells Plain has a new beauty queen and she is a woman of steel.
Moleboheng Phera, 20, is the new Miss Mitchells Plain Unbreakable 2023, and was crowned on Saturday at Highlands Primary School.
In its second year running, the aim of the beauty pageant is to raise funds for the anti-bullying campaign “42Unbreakable” which was established by the Jenecker relatives Kayla, Barbara and Celita seven years ago.
Both Celita and Kayla were bullied at school and say they overcame their struggles by creating awareness and doing motivational speeches in schools about bullying.
Kayla says the purpose of the pageant is to change the way women are viewed in society.
Kayla says: “Society expects us to have the perfect body and features, but I tell my girls that you can show up as you are and still be beautiful.
“Me and my sister were bullied and body shamed from primary to high school so we know how it feels and most girls who enter are also going through the same, that is why they could show up confidently on stage.”
Over 40 contestants aged 3 to 25 from Mitchells Plain participated in five categories namely Miss Tiny, Little Miss, Pre-teen, Miss Teen and Miss Unbreakable.
Moleboheng, who is from an area called The Leagues near Heinz Park, says her win came as a surprise: “I’m truly honoured and grateful to have been crowned the queen of Miss Unbreakable 2023.
“With this platform I’ll be raising my voice against bullying, I’ll be visiting schools and orphanages and speaking against bullying, and the types of bullying does not only come in the form of physical abuse, but also in verbal and emotional abuse.
“I was verbally bullied in primary school, but I stood my ground against bullying and I never allowed anyone to bully me again.”