“There is a lot of racism in the world. We shouldn’t fight each other. I want Africa, the black continent, to be united.” These are the words with which Guy Murray-Bruce, founder of Miss Universe Nigeria, attempted Stop the wave of hatred and racism that persecuted Chidimma Adetshinawhom he invited to participate in the beauty contest.
The 23-year-old model, who had previously explained to the media that she was born in Soweto and that her father was Nigerian, while her mother was South African of Mozambican descent, decided to leave the Miss South Africa pageant after Social media attacked her when they felt she was not fit to represent the country highlighting the basis of the competition that candidates must have South African citizenship.
As rumors circulated that his mother had committed identity theft, Adesthina immediately became the target of xenophobia, becoming the target of a xenophobic reaction after being questioned about her identity. But… Who is Chidimma Adetshina?
Model and lawyer
Adetshina, who studied law and was a basketball player netball, She’s been dreaming of making a name for herself in the beauty world since 2017, but a knee injury sidelined her from her path. While she admits she’s not fully recovered, she’s decided to come back to make her dreams come true. AND While she struggles to make a place for herself in beauty contests, she combines her studies with a modeling job. from African companies such as Thaélle and Alpha Arsthetics.
In a video posted on her social media, she explained that if she won the Miss South Africa crown, would fight to give visibility and a voice to women and children who are victims of violence, thus clearly showing that one should not be afraid to raise one’s voice, which, in a world that sometimes punishes those who do not want to limit themselves to smiling and nodding, demonstrates their strength and conviction. Those who have played a key role in enduring everything that has happened in recent months.
To compete in South Africa, he participated in the third season of the reality show. Crown Hunters. “I deserve to be Miss South Africa 2024 because I have a passion to make a positive impact. My authenticity and leadership are my other great attributes,” she said in the program’s presentation video. Proof that she enjoyed the experience is that she assured, while she was in the middle of controversy, that wanted to participate in the next edition of Big Brother Naijawhich will celebrate its tenth edition in 2025.
He admits that he would also like to have a podcast in which Host inspiring discussions with your guests and motivate people. “What I experienced was a complicated journey. Sometimes I would fall asleep crying.
“I wondered why I was going through all this, but in difficult times I think it’s essential to focus on the positive,” he said in a radio interview on Cool FM. He added: “I changed my mindset and had faith that something good would come out of this.”
Identity, Hate and Networks
“The controversy surrounding Chidimma Adetshina’s participation in the pageant has once again shone a spotlight on issues of xenophobia, Afrophobia, belonging and what it means to be South African,” writes Terence Corrigan, project mdirector of the South African Institute of Race Relations, in an open letter published on the entity’s website.
“Hostility toward Adetshina was evident even before the Interior Ministry confirmed suspicions of wrongdoing by her mother. when you document your birth. Unsurprisingly and rightly, this hostility has aroused widespread condemnation But this understates the problem. In the absence of a common ethnic, cultural or religious identity, South Africa has attempted to build a sense of citizenship on civic grounds. “More than blood ties, what it means to be ‘South African’ rests (at least nominally) on civic bonds of loyalty to a common homeland and the shared values of a constitutional democracy,” he warns.
Social media has become a new haven for hate. “Miss South Africa really wants to shove it down our throats makwerekwere through a twisted Pan-Africanism,” content creator Kwena Molekwa said on her social media.
Makwerekwere It is a term used to refer to African immigrants in a derogatory manner.and this has been repeated countless times on social media, where racism has found a place to navigate. South Africa, largely populated and governed by black people, has many touches of discrimination and racism thirty years after the end of apartheid.
As noted by Abigail Noko, Regional Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for Southern Africa, which provides technical assistance in the promotion and protection of human rights to 14 countries in the region, Racism remains embedded in the economic, spatial and social fabric of this country.
“Dismantling these deeply rooted racist and discriminatory systems requires commitment, leadership, dialogue and advocacy to implement anti-racist policies that implement human rights standards and provide a framework to help address and rectify these injustices and promote equality,” the UN website explains.
Crown against colorism
Given the accusations against her mother and having announced legal proceedings against her for alleged fraud, the party led by Guyton McKenzie, Patriotic Alliance (“we cannot have Nigerians participating in a beauty pageant to be Miss South Africa,” he said on X), IThe model has decided to retire “for the safety and well-being of herself and her own family.” This was made known to his supporters through an informal statement shared on his social networks on August 8.
It is striking to see that The model has removed the ability to leave comments on her postsfurther proof of the strength of the hatred she is subjected to. However, she is now lucky, because last Saturday she was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria.
“It’s been a tough journey for me and I’m very proud of myself and very grateful for the love and support. It’s something I’ve always wanted and I’m very happy to have been given a second chance,” she told AFP shortly after being crowned.
“Let us break down the barriers that separate us. Let us foster a continent where all Africans can move freely without prejudice, pursue their dreams and contribute to the growth and prosperity of our great continent. This crown is not just a symbol of beauty, it is a call to action. Thank you all for your support and belief in me. “I am excited about the journey ahead and the opportunity to be Miss Universe Nigeria,” she said on social media.
From the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania, a South African pan-Africanist national liberation movement, The hateful remarks made against the model have been condemned on several occasionswhich they attribute to “structural violence and South Africa’s history of racism.” They stressed that the attack is based on “generalized anti-blackness” which survives in the political landscape of South Africa thanks to colonization.
“All over the world, everyone hates black people, and South Africa is no exception.“To be black in this world is to be the ideal target for contempt and ridicule,” said Azania Tyhali, spokesperson for the PAC, who noted that the country’s colonial structures that aimed to preserve white privilege have survived and remain present today through the division of the colonized African people.
“The intra-black violence manifested through the Afrophobic attack on Chidimma is the result of white supremacy and the fear of the colonized black subject to confront the real cause of their self-hatred. This white supremacy has transformed black people into fungible objects.” he said.
THE afrophobiaa form of discrimination and racism against black people that leads to the exclusion and dehumanization of people of African descent, and to the colorismemerged in the face of controversy over repeated attempts to ban Chidimma Adetshina from the South African beauty pageant.
Before being removed, A petition demanding his withdrawal from the competition has garnered more than 14,000 signatures. “Colorism means that even if you are a black person, if your skin color is lighter, you are perceived as someone with a better appearance. In South Africa, there are vestiges of segregation and colorism is important, and so a person who is not only black, but has a darker complexion, can be perceived as someone to be underestimated or even pushed away,” explains Magas Biel Moreno, activist and collaborator of Afrocolectiva.
“Elon Musk is presented as a South African celebrity even though his mother is Canadian and his father is South African, but his grandparents were British.. It is curious that in her case no one questions her identity and in Adetshina’s, yes. It would not be far-fetched to imagine a scenario in which Chidimma was of European origin and that instead of being ostracized, she would be welcomed for her mixture of cultures and accepted as South African. However, as Its diversity places it in a less favorable social position due to colorism, Not only may she be perceived as less beautiful because of her skin tone, but she may also be rejected because of her own identity as a South African,” Moreno adds.
In fact, in 2001, the winner of Miss South Africa was Vanessa Carreira. Although her parents are from Portugal and Angola, being white, no one seemed to care about their origins, so this is further proof that in South Africa, race is still the prism used to judge people.Whitewashing continues and opportunities are unequal for blacks, zambos and mulattos. “The one with the lightest skin is the first to be considered,” says Gloria Karamañites, the first black woman to be crowned Miss Panama.
