‘I’m fighting for my community,’ says Miss South Africa’s first transgender contestant

By: 3 years ago

Lehlogonolo Machaba, the first openly transgender woman to compete for the Miss South Africa title poses for a photograph outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, July 10, 2021. Picture taken July 10, 2021. REUTERS/ Sumaya Hisham

'I'm fighting for my community,' says Miss South Africa's first transgender contestant — Lehlogonolo Machaba, the first openly transgender woman to compete for the Miss South Africa title poses for a photograph outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, July 10, 2021. Picture taken July 10, 2021. REUTERS/ Sumaya Hisham

JOHANNESBURG — The first transgender contestant in South Africa’s national beauty pageant, 24-year-old Lehlogonolo Machaba hopes she will inspire greater acceptance of the LGBTQI community.

Machaba, a fashion model, is competing for the Miss South Africa title, which opened to transgender contestants in 2019.

“Being the first is a bit overwhelming and I’m also anxious that people do know now that I’m a trans woman,” Machaba said.

South Africa is the only African country where same-sex marriage is legal and which enshrines LGBTQI rights in its constitution. People can change their identity in the national birth register.

However, violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex people in South Africa has escalated, with more than 10 people killed in attacks this year, and social stigma and discrimination remain strong.

Lehlogonolo Machaba, the first openly transgender woman to compete for the Miss South Africa title poses during a photoshoot in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 24, 2021. Picture taken July 24, 2021. REUTERS/ Sumaya Hisham

Machaba said she expected to be stigmatized for putting a spotlight on issues transgender people face, but that the killing of a close friend in a hate crime had given her strength to fight.

“I’m here to fight for my community, not necessarily in a physical manner, but through words,” she said.

“It would mean a lot for me as a trans woman to win Miss South Africa but also I believe it would mean a lot for the queer community in South Africa. It would show that South Africa is breaking boundaries,” she said.