Nineteen-year-old Kharendwe Thabo, who lives with albinism, is very optimistic that she will do well in the Miss Albinism South Africa beauty pageant, which is to be held in December this year.
The pageant was initially scheduled to be held in September but was postponed to December. Speaking to the Limpopo Mirror recently, the ever-smiling girl from Mbahela village said she was inspired to participate in this year's pageant because it gave people like herself, who lived with albinism, a platform to address the issues they experienced in their day-to-day lives.
"Since I was very young, I knew that I have what it takes to be a beauty queen, but I never entered competitions as they did not address the issues that affect people who are living with albinism before. This competition, however, does," she said.
One of the things Kharendwe is fighting for is to get special schools for people living with albinism. "Teachers from mainstream schools don't understand people like us. Some of them won't even touch us, as if we have some deadly disease. We are only suffering from a skin problem, nothing else. We are as human as they are, but they treat us as if we are subhuman beings. These are the type of issues I will be addressing during the pageant."
Regarding her future, she said she would like to obtain a master's degree before she got married. "I have come to realise that relationships and marriage need educated people these days. It looks like men - whether they live with albinism or not - think the same way. If you are not educated, they use you as a doormat and dump you."
Kharendwe will compete with her role model, Engedzani Ndou, who is also from the Vhembe District. The two are both students at the University of Limpopo.