When you are blessed with a curvaceous body, you flaunt it. Women with curves have been body shamed and expected to be less curvy by society while skinny has been acceptable. For years we have seen the runways and stages dominated by petite beauty queens. Nevertheless, a new era has begun, we have seen a shift in beauty standards – more plus size women have been spotted on runways. Miss Curvybody South Africa has also joined the cause.
Ms Curvybody SA was launched in 2016 and has since taken South Africa by storm. Mapule Mphaki took it upon herself as the Founder and CEO to make this movement possible. The sole purpose of a pageant of this nature is to deflate the notion that beauty is dependent on size. The pageant is open to all South African citizens of all races and cultural backgrounds. The 2021 finalists have been announced, one of them is Koketso Mataboge.
Koketso is a 37-year-old female that has shown huge potential in taking the title of Miss Curvybody SA 2022 home. She was born in Mamelodi and grew up in Mabopane. Mataboge has had an exciting upbringing from a family of six and raised in a church. “I was taught self-discipline, respect and to chase after my dreams. I was blessed to have supportive and hard-working parents”, she says.
With strong values that have been imparted on her, it comes as no surprise that Mataboge has managed to secure a spot from the top 10 to the top three finalists. Furthermore, she has a National Diploma in language practices and currently pursuing a Project Management course. Koketso has managed to intertwine her education background, social media presence, networking skills and life skills into receiving most public votes for online voting.
“I have always dreamt of being a model, I believe that I was born to inspire South Africans one way or another, which is why when Miss Curvybody SA presented itself to me, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands “.
Mataboge is described as a curvy boss lady, who is beautiful and well deserving of the crown because of her giving heart in advocating for change in her community. She is currently driving a community project that collects unisex shoes, toothpastes, toothbrushes and sanitary towels for those in need. Some of the objectives for the project is to teach a boy child at an early age that a woman should be respected and not abused – as well as to give a boy child a platform to speak up in order to curb the increasing statistics of suicides in South African men.
Koketso would like to see more women and girls breaking the silence and of Gender Based Violence in homes, workplaces, churches and communities. She condemns sexual violation, bullying and body shaming. Since the start of the competition, she has received exposure in media through interviews on radio and TV stations.
The beauty queen is also being booked as a public and motivational speaker. More opportunities have been presented to her, such as brand ambassador, along with invitations to fundraising events such as the ActionSA fundraising event taking place on July 30, 2022.
Mataboge, expresses her gratitude by thanking her family, colleagues, social media friends, her community and SA as a whole for the tremendous support she has received during her journey while she waits for the finale. The date has not been announced yet, however, the public is encouraged to keep a look out on social media platforms for further information.
In conclusion, Koketso Mataboge says, “stay courageous, believe in yourselves, use every opportunity presented to you. Work hard with commitment, passion and never forget to exude love in every endeavour you partake in”.
By Sandra Lesenyeho
