A tiny beauty queen has been ruling pageants since she started modelling two years ago.
Seven-year-old Raheeqah Tieties from Hanover Park won the Little Miss Western Cape pageant held at the Century City Conference Centre on Saturday.
The Grade 1 York Road Primary School pupil started modelling when her crèche teacher Melissa Phillips insisted on entering her in the Mr and Miss Access Park Kenilworth competition in 2018.
She was crowned the first princess and her proud mother Aisha Tieties, 35, says since then, her daughter’s modelling career took off: “In 2019 we entered the Western Province championship without her having any form of modelling training,” she says.
“She won three silver medals which was for photogenic, evening wear ramp and catwalk ramp.
“She also won two bronze medals for interview and casual wear ramp. We then decided to contact the Reana van Tonder modelling school and she was enrolled with them in August 2019 to now.”
She was crowned Mini Miss Cape Rose 2020 earlier this year and Aisha says her daughter is focused and hard-working.
“She also started doing charity work in and around our community where she hands out food or sandwiches and sometimes party packs to children, and she became an ambassador for Goodies for Girls where she, with some of her pageant sisters, donate toiletries to underprivileged girls every month.”
Aisha says Raheeqah won judges over with her unique flair.
The meisie won seven awards including Best Dress in Interview Wear, Best Interview, Most Personality, Most Active on Social Media, Public Choice, Best Dressed in Evening Wear, Best Charity Portfolio and an automatic entry into the Junior Miss South Africa 2021 selections.
Raheeqah says: “I’m so excited to have won this title and I enjoyed every minute of the pageant.”