Get to know our reigning Miss Mamelodi Sundowns 2020/21 - Kadija Makhanya

 KADIJA MAKHANYA - REIGNING MISS MAMELODI SUNDOWNS

DON’T KNOW WHO THE NEWLY CROWNED MISS MAMELODI SUNDOWNS IS? GREAT NEWS BECAUSE WE GOT YOU COVERED. KADIJA MAKHANYA (23), CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENT FROM KWA-ZULU NATAL, WALKED AWAY WITH THE TITLE OF MISS MAMELODI SUNDOWNS 2020/2021 THIS YEAR IN MARCH AT GALLAGHER CONVENTION CENTRE. SHE IS NOT ONLY THE QUEEN OF STRUT HOWEVER SHE IS A WOMEN WITH BEAUTY & BRAINS AND A ROLE MODEL TO MANY YOUNG GIRLS. OFENTSE PITSO FROM THE YELLOW NATION HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW THIS PHENOMENAL WOMAN. 

Q-     Congratulations on being crowned Miss Mamelodi Sundowns 2020/2021, how did you feel when you were selected as the Queen?

A - I am truly honoured for being crowned Miss Mamelodi Sundowns. At first I couldn’t believe, however at the moment I feel nothing but gratitude and keeping a steady head forward, making sure that I make it the best reign possible

 

Q-     What does your name mean?

 A-     Kadija is a Swahili name meaning  “Success, impumelelo in Zulu”

 

Q-     What made you to fall in love with modelling?

A - I just realised my purpose and what I am passionate about. It started with me just trying it out, but once I got into it, it came naturally to me. I started pursuing modelling after winning my first which was Miss MUT and got scouted. I was signed under “Indoni Models” which is based in Durban. “The rest is history”, she said.

 

Q-     Why did you enter Miss Mamelodi Sundowns and was it your first year entering?

A - It was my first year and it all started with me following the pageant for years, I took a leap of faith and felt it inside that I am going to try it out and will come out with experience from it. “It was quite a little bit of a hiccup at the beginning; however what God has blessed you with, no one can take it away from you”

 

Q-     Let me take you back to day you were crowned. You were asked by our current Miss South Africa “how do you feel about women in Sports”? I should say I loved your response. Please advise if you still remember what your response was?

A - “Women have been left behind in a number of industries, we find ourselves trying to keep up or trying to break barriers in male dominated industries and sports being one of them”. She further explained what she meant by her response, “there are still a lot of things that still need to be done in order to ensure equality in most industries”. 

I highlighted what was said by Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe “that it is important to empower young girls and women and it means a lot to them when it comes from their fathers”. I feel that if we get support from our fathers from a very young age, we wouldn’t go through certain social-economic issues that we are currently facing, “gender based violence” being one of them.

 

Q-     What would your advice be to any female that is interested in entering Miss Mamelodi Sundowns and what do they need to prepare themselves for?

A - Know the brand that you are going to represent. Follow and support all the teams under Mamelodi Sundowns. Be yourself and have fun.

 

Q-     Besides being Miss Mamelodi Sundowns, who is Kadija, where are you from and what do you love doing on your spare time?

A- She describes herself as someone who is fun, loving, family oriented, enjoys helping people, spreading positivity, love & happiness and a very down to earth girl from Umlazi in Kwa-Zulu Natal. On her spare time she enjoys traveling and modelling

Q-     What are you studying and what made you to study that?

A-     BTech in Civil Engineering majoring in Construction Management. Her reason to choose Civil Engineering is because she grew up around strong women and has always been intrigued and fascinated by male dominated industries, she studied science when she was in high school and wanted to study mining engineering at the University of Johannesburg, after she was put on the waiting list for too long, Kadija came with plan B which is Civil Engineering and feel in love with it.

 

Q-     Few weeks after you were crowned, the country was under the lockdown, how did you feel after that announcement?

A- Kadija says she felt robbed and sulking a little bit as it was on two weeks since she was crowned, however she managed to understand that she cannot dwell in that situation and had to move on and make something out of it. 

She explained however Miss Mamelodi has shifted to working virtually and leaving a footprint on social media while following the lockdown regulations. Her plans when the country is no longer under lockdown is to execute all the plans that she had “planned” which is attending the games, socialising with supporters, recruiting female supporters for Mamelodi Sundowns  and organising suicide initiatives

 

Q-     Congratulations on being the first Miss Mamelodi Sundowns to automatically be selected as the semi-finalist of Miss SA, how did that make you feel?

 A-     Entering Miss SA has always been my ultimate goal so being handed that opportunity in the manner which it was, was mind blowing. She is grateful to the Miss SA organisation for allowing her to be part of the experience and being the top 35 semi-finalist. She is still planning to enter Miss SA and has hope that she will one day win it because plenty of the previous Miss SA winners entered the pageant numerous times and never gave up.

 

Q-     Please explain how you juggle studying and also modelling?

 A-     She explained that it is a challenging as they both demanding however her priority is education as it is sustainable and long reaching than modelling. She loves every aspect that comes with modelling. “[Yoh!] University fees are too expensive for me not to put effort, so school is full time and modelling is part time”, she said.

Kadija has worked with different big brands in South Africa after being scouted by her agent such as; Jockey, KZN Fashion Council in Durban to name a few…

 

Q-     You look like an introvert, are you?

A- “I get that a lot [laughs]”. She said that people always judge her and always tell her that she is not well known. She explained that in order to know her more, you need to have a conversation with her. She describes herself as an ambivert (both introvert and extrovert); however by nature she is grounded and quite calm.

 

Q-     How would you describe your relationship with the previous Miss Mamelodi Sundowns Queen “Faith Nonyane”?

A- Haaa! [Elevated]. She explained that she has a good relationship with Faith and that she is the most supportive, sweetest and kindest person that she knows. She is grateful that Faith welcomed her and was ready to take her under her wing.

 

Q-     What is your motto in life

 A-     “Do the best that you can, where you are with what you have”.

I remind myself of this every day. As people we often have a tendency of making up excuses of why we cannot do something and feeling pitiful of ourselves when we look at our situations. We really not resilient, preserving and propelling forward. I remind myself every day that make the most of life, do what you can, use whatever it is that you have and create desirable circumstances for yourself because nothing is perfect, one needs to do what they can with what they have.

 

Q-     What role do you think pageants play in the society?

A-     “I feel that pageantry is the industry that needs to be maintained and be invested in because it plays an important role in the lives of young girls. It boosted my confidence, developed my self-esteem and the manner which I speak in.

Modelling is character building and allows a person to live a life of purpose and impact. One thing I love about pageantry is that you have to help people in the process and fulfil the duties and responsibilities that you have when you are a reigning queen”, Kadija said.

 

Q-     Who is your favourite Mamelodi Sundowns ladies FC player and why?

A-     Agnes Nkosi, I am drawn to her because I see a little bit of myself in her in a way that she is also a very calm and down to earth person but has a very fun and playful side. She is very open and loves people, I see my personality traits in her because you will never find her being the loudest in the room however you will feel her love and will always laugh.

I love her consistency when she is on the pitch and how she is so motivated, determined and is a very good captain to the Mamelodi Sundowns ladies team. I admire her a lot.

 

Q-     Women and children are being killed and the statistics keep increasing, what do you think needs to be done to end this and how can men be educated to stop this?

 A-     She describes this situation as disheartening and feels that it is unfair that women have to labour for their rights and have to protest. Being safe and comfortable in our own spaces is a basic human right for us as women; it is unfortunate because we are faced with femicide.

It is not our own duty to address it but it is our duty together as the society to address this. We need to be responsible and call men and ask them “why is this happening? Join us in protecting our women and young girls.

Long term solution she suggested is that small changes need to start being implemented, patriarchal acts cannot be practised in our households and we expect the national GBV to alleviate.

If a young boy is treated differently from a young girl, they grow up with the sub-conscious mind and feel that they are superior to women. We need to strive for gender equality as a society

 

Q-     Which women inspires you the most and why?

A-     South Africa: Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, it is because of the story she shared which resonates with me. When she shares her story, you cannot help but be inspired. I love how she balances being a professional medical doctor and pursuing her interests (in fashion and Motsepe Foundation). She is proving that one can pursue their profession and passion at the same time

Internationally: Malala Yousafzai, she is one of the Youngest Nobel Prize winners, she advocates for the education of young women and has sacrificed her own life (she was almost killed by her pursuit in fighting for education for young girls around the world). I am drawn to resilience and strength as a person and for fighting for what she believes in.

 

Q-     What does Women’s day mean to you?

A-     “It is a reminder of the power we hold as women and how we can really pursue anything. We have proved to be capable time and time again, it is a significant day where one just looks at herself and look how far you’ve come and where you are going as women and how you can impact the lives of the other women.

Women’s day for me is about doing self-introspection, aligning myself with my goal, my dreams, my vision and asking myself questions such as: Am I living up to values of the women of 1956? Am I exercising the rights of that they fought for in a positive way to impact the future generation

 

Q-     After Miss Mamelodi Sundowns, what are your life plans?

A-     Pageant coaching, continue with studies, possibly move abroad and starting a civil engineering consulting company

 

Q-     What would you like to say to the supporters since PSL is about to start?

A-     We are going to be the Champions; we have been working very hard. The Brazilians are taking it, we are only 4 points below the first team on the log and we know that is nothing to us. They won’t see what is coming [laughs]

 

Q-     How do you feel about our ladies team making it to CAF

A-     “I am so proud. It is about time, we need to formalise and structure our women’s football industry like we haven’t before, and we are still playing catch up in empowering female sports.

Our ladies team has been working hard, how do you get through a season without losing a game, we are undefeated champions… We are definitely getting another Star… They deserve it... They should just know that they have our full support”, said Kadija

 

Q-     What do you think needs to be done to give the ladies team support as we do for the first team?

A-     I feel that it is the duty of SAFA and PSL to create proper equality between the women’s and the male league, once we have that from our governing bodies it can escalate to the supporters.

As supporters we need to give the same support we giving to our first team to our ladies team, be interested, show up to their games and watch their games when they are televised as not all are televised. The more the governing bodies see that there is support for SNWL (SAFA National Women’s League), the more they can get sponsors.

 

Advice from Kadija to young girls that want to pursue a career in Modelling

“Be clear with what you want to achieve in the modelling industry. Treat yourself as a brand, start to take yourself serious, keep up with the trends, eat healthy and take care of your body and skin”

Kadija would like to thank her family for supporting all her projects and believes that it is through their support that she has made it thus far. She is grateful for the supporters who always show her love.