Johannesburg - Marilyn Ngubane is the pageant director for Miss Pre-Teen RGP Gauteng, the first of its kind in the province, where beauty queens aged nine to 19 show off not only their beauty but also their entrepreneurial abilities in promoting small businesses in their regions.
Her journey as a pageant director started in 2012, when she did her first beauty pageant, called Miss Teen Queen SA, which was held at Dunkeld Bowling Club in Johannesburg.
"The girls took to the streets on Oxford Roadin Rosebank, all the way to Rivonia in Sandton, marching against gender-based violence (GBV) and child abuse," she said.
The Miss Teen RGP title means "transformation" of a young girl who is becoming aware of her feminine power at a young age and utilises her voice to move and change her surroundings within her community.
Ngubane said that Miss Teen RGP's conception was inspired by her two teenage daughters, who were the official ambassadors of the pageant.
She said: "Megan and Uzile Ngubane helped me recognise the importance of women's power and leadership through my journey as a single mom and other women close to us in similar situations who have and continue to empower not only their children but their communities at large.
"We empower people through workshops and charity activities such as sanitary pads, clothing, food donations, and motivational speaking, mostly promoting young girls to develop entrepreneurial skills at a young age."
"My goal in the beauty industry is to bring awareness to our country so that it recognises that the beauty pageant industry, like any other industry, does create job opportunities for the youth of South Africa."
"Basetsana Kumalo, Rolene Strauss and Zozibini Tunzi are examples of women who got full recognition after winning queen titles and have become renowned businesswomen in their own right and modelled thousands of young women into who they are today in our country."
She said that since the tender age of 14, she has entered at least more than 25 beauty pageants, and her biggest achievement was making it to the Face of Africa finals, where she represented her country in Zambia.
"Miss Teen RGP has 60 finalists, which comprise pre-teens and teens from 9 to 19-years-old."
"I have seen the girls form a sisterhood family quicker than I anticipated during all our live auditions held at Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate, and the girls have taken to social media platforms showcasing their love for charity work within their regions.
"Some have started programmes where they are (training) young girls who want to be models one day, and this coming week they will be focusing on local tourism to show people the beauty of Gauteng through their eyes, within the five different regions, namely Ekurhuleni, Joburg, Tshwane, Sedibeng, and the West Rand."
She added that seeing young girls come together to redefine their futures collectively through showcasing their entrepreneurial skills, motivational speaking, and tapping into their purpose in life is fulfilling.
The Star