Jesmika Singh, a PhD candidate and a finalist in the Miss World South Africa competition, wants to use the platform created by pageants to raise awareness about breast cancer, a cause that she holds close to her heart.

Singh said when she was 15-years-old she lost her mother to breast cancer and this profoundly impacted her life, leading her to forge a career path centred on the disease.

The Durban-born finalist, who is one of two contestants from KwaZulu-Natal in the Miss World South Africa top 10, said: “I focused my career around breast cancer research and treatment because I want to help people to not have to go through what we went through.

“I completed my undergraduate at UKZN, a BSc in Genetics and Cell Biology, summa cum laude, and at the top of both my majors. My BMed honours in Human Genetics, I finished in the first class. My Master’s I completed in cancer biotechnology and immuno-therapy (MScMed Science in Medicine) with 93%, the highest mark achieved in my lab,” said Singh.

The 25-year-old said she believes that pageantry plays a crucial role in empowering women leadership.

“I have seen it through my journey as a finalist where I have been able to amplify my message and speak to so many people and reach a much greater audience to make an impact. I have been able to help a lot of people in understanding breast cancer, helping students access required resources,” she said.

The Miss World SA finalist expressed her gratitude for the rewarding experience, emphasising that she embraced the challenges encountered from the beginning of the competition as valuable life lessons.

“Trying to juggle my PhD and the pageant has been challenging, but it taught me time management and how to work on my skills to carry out both. Since this is something that I want to do moving forward, making an impact in different fields, I think this has trained me well,” she said.

She said that if she was crowned Miss World SA, her focus would be empowerment.

“I want to empower breast cancer patients, provide them with resources for assistance, empower our youth to maximise their potential and gain access to resources they need.

“I hope to show young people that you can have multiple and different interests and be successful in all of them. I also want to show that our physical attributes are not the only thing that make you a successful leader or pageant queen. I want to show young people that whoever they are, they can do anything as long as they believe in themselves,” said Singh.

The top 10 finalists will compete for the coveted Miss World SA title at Sun City on October 5.

The winner will represent South Africa in the Miss World pageant.

The Mercury

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