Miss South Africa ’23 Natasha Joubert on wearing the Crown of Change
In just a month of being crowned Miss South Africa 2023, Natasha Joubert describes the journey as busy. But beyond being busy, with multiple engagements and initiating big projects, the beauty queen is living her dream.
This dream, she shares, is one she had been chasing since a young age when she started with her journey with pageants. And when she had done all she could on an amateur level, she gunned for the big stages and had been preparing herself tirelessly for thee crown.
“It started off as something innocent, something to enjoy as a hobby but towards the end, it wasn’t just about pageants but became about winning a prize that would assist me financially one way or the other, or something that would assist me for school. That was a reality for me.”
Pageants quickly morphed into a platform of change. But first that change was for herself.
“When my father passed away when I was 16 years old, it put a lot of strain on my mother financially. We lost our childhood home and she couldn’t pay our studies or school bills. There was a lot that was happening. Pageants were something, at that time, that I was really good at so that I could go in and say ‘I want to win this R2 000 this week to buy myself hockey shoes’. Pageants were never about validation, they became a serious thing for me,” she said.
The Miss South Africa title became a serious feat to achieve for herself.
And now with this responsibility that rests on her shoulders, dubbed as the crown of change, she wants to make the most of it.
“The dream of becoming Miss South Africa dates back to when I was a 13-year-old naïve little girl looking at all the past Miss South Africa’s and wanting to be like them without knowing why. But there’s also a point of reference where you know what it feels like to be excluded or going through something extremely difficult, and I think once you find yourself there, you just have a different desire in making that difference in other people’s lives,” she shares.
“I don’t just speak on education based on just having to speak on something. It’s knowing what it’s like to be financially excluded and not being able to study. So when you speak from a place of experience, that sums up a different will within yourself to make a difference.”
It is that reason that gave meaning to the crown.
“I really want this year to be something significant and I really want to reflect back and say I was a Miss South Africa that did everything that she could have done.
“I think over the years we have been very distracted by international competitions, which is not a bad thing, but it really misses the point of Miss South Africa being a job and that there is so much work that needs to be done in our country. It’s not about going on global stages and winning, nor is it about just being a beauty pageant, but it is an empowerment platform. And I think the organization has worked tirelessly to bring this point across because of all the changes it wants to achieve.
“I want to further cement this perspective of being a Miss South Africa that is doing work on the ground and not just showing up to events,” she said.
Natasha once came close to clinching the title in 2020, coming up as second runner up which also meant representing South Africa at the global Miss Universe 2020. Looking back, she said she now understands why she didn’t win both titles. But it was the shock to the system of being left all alone, post the competition, that led to her depression, she shares.
“If I can be very transparent, not getting the crown then really did hurt at the moment but I think Miss Universe distracted me from it. And when that big disappointment of not winning Miss Universe happened to me, I had to deal with all the emotions all at once. All the feelings and depressions, and it became such a lengthy journey that I am still working through.
“It became mind boggling to know that so many people look at your journey, they are rooting for you and are there for you, and then the next minute they aren’t aware that you are sitting in therapy sessions afterwards. But it also became such a self discovery journey for me that gave new meaning to returning to Miss South Africa – which was more than just a comeback. It was about knowing parts about myself that I never knew before and I knew now that I could contribute more positively as the reigning queen,” she said.
Through it all, the journey has been one of growth, learning how to show up for oneself, being more sensitive to people’s plight and knowing herself on a deeper level. The title became about serving one’s country.
“I also think that had I not gone through that first rodeo, I wouldn’t have realised what this platform really is about. The gravity of it all, but I am glad,” she said.
The title does present some perks, including numerous travels that will fill Miss South Africa’s schedule. The month of September kicks off with three official trips lined up, one to Mauritius for her official title shoot, another to Cape Town for a cover shoot and then a well deserved weekend away.
“I am beyond humbled to be in this position and I certain of what my role requires. I hope my year of reign is nothing short of significance and making a difference. I want to make wearing the crown of change worth it,” she said.
