LISTEN | Miss SA top 13 Chidimma Adetshina wants to represent a country that loves her back

Miss SA top 13 finalist Chidimma Adetshina wants to use her story to motivate for unity.

Adetshina was born at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital to a Nigerian father and mother of Mozambique descent, and was raised in Soweto. 

Her parents met in Johannesburg in the late '90s and chose to settle in Pimville [her grandmother's home on her maternal side] before moving to Cape Town where she currently resides. 

In an interview with Sowetan SMag, the 23-year-old revealed that being raised in a multi-national home gave her an all-round view of the different cultures in the diaspora and how both her origins give her a sense of pride as a South African. 

“I was so excited to enter Miss SA and honestly, I didn’t think that far as to what the public would think. But once I got to the top 16, that’s when I felt it. People on X [formally known as Twitter] were asking why I'm competing because I’m not South African. They questioned my nationality, along with my parents'," she said. 

“At first I ignored it but as I progressed in the competition, the criticism started growing by the day. Until I thought to myself, I am representing a country but I don’t feel the love from the people I’m representing – I even asked myself, ‘Is it worth it?’”

Adetshina is a law student who enjoys playing netball for the Western Province. While she’s used to criticism as an athlete, she said the backlash on social media was a different ball game altogether. 

“You try so hard to represent your country and wear it with so much pride but all these people are not in support of you… I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t know what to say or not to say because this is such a sensitive topic. I don’t want to end up saying something and then offend people," she said. 

“I’m at a point where I don’t know whether I should keep quiet or set the record straight because there’s a lot that’s being misconstrued. To me, I see this as an opportunity where I can educate people, I just need to see how I go about it.”

Adetshina said the backlash regarding her name came from her not introducing herself properly to South Africans. 

She said if she could change the hands of time, she’d redo her entry video where she’d explain with clarity who she truly is. 

“My dad is a proud Nigerian and my mother was born and raised in SA but has roots from Mozambique. My mom’s family still lives in Soweto and I visit them from time to time,” she explains.

“To be honest, I just feel that all of this is black-on-black hate as I’m not the only one in this competition who has a surname that’s not South African. I just feel like the attention is on me because of my skin colour which I think is a disadvantage… it’s also been something I had to overcome growing up." 

In about two weeks, South Africans will get to witness a new beauty queen being crowned at this year’s Miss SA pageant, and despite suffering negative opinions from naysayers, Adetshina is more than determined to take home the title. 

She knows all of this because as a return participant who didn’t make it to the final stage last year, her being in the top 13 is validation enough that she has what it takes.

“I’ve always envisioned a dream to be on Miss SA since 2017 and here I am achieving that goal. To me, being a finalist is as if I’m rewriting my mother’s dream of becoming a model. Her father didn’t allow her to do anything related to modelling, so I feel like I’m living her life which feels like a beautiful dream come true,” said Adetshina. 

“My journey so far has been wonderful but it’s been a lot of hard work. I wanted to come back because I wanted a different story. 

“Shooting our reality series, Crown Chasers, has helped me as well as other finalists see what a Miss SA job is and what it requires." 

Adetshina is recently divorced and is a mother to a one-year-old baby boy. She said that her life in the past year has been nothing but a reflection of who she is as a person. 

“I got divorced in February. We were not compatible because he had this ideology of what an African married woman is. I didn’t want to be in a position where I can’t go out, but had to clean, cook… that was just not for me because as a society, we are way past that phase,” she said. 

“My parents have been very supportive and although my marriage robbed me from enjoying the beauty of pregnancy and being a wife – overall it brings me joy that I get to take new steps with my son. 

“I didn’t think I’d be a mom at my age as he was conceived out of wedlock but I’m glad to have him. At the beginning of the year, I was so depressed and worried about how life was going to turn out for me but getting this far in the competition made me believe there was more in store for me.”