Miss SA Zozibini Tunzi, who will be representing South Africa at Miss Universe 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia on December 8, is aligning herself with the United Nations solidarity campaign #HeForShe for the advancement of gender equality.
Tunzi said on the night she was crowned Miss SA: “We have absolutely no reason to keep on smiling because South African women are dying every day and mostly people are doing nothing about it. It’s not up to us, it’s up to the perpetrators to start doing right".
Now she has asked South African men to pledge their support for her campaign.
“The #HeForShe campaign is an invitation to men and people of all genders to stand together with women to create a gender equal world. I am asking men to write love letters to the women of South Africa. Those letters will be inscribed on to ribbons of fabric which will, in turn, form part of my national costume.
Tunzi will wear a wave of love from men in the form of love letters. Picture: Supplied.
“In what will be a first, I will literally take South Africa with me to Miss Universe; I will wear a wave of love from men in the form of love letters celebrating and honouring the women of this country,” said Tunzi.
She also said she wanted to shift perception about gender based violence.
“Women are constantly being taught how to defend themselves against attack from men. I would like to shift the perception. I want to say that that responsibility should no longer rest on the shoulders of women alone. I want the men of our nation to stand and take a stand against gender based violence," added Tunzi.
CALL TO ACTION
:Men of SA, stand up and send your love letter to South African women.
1. Pledge your support on www.heforshe.org
2. Share a selfie with a #HeForShe board on social media with your love letter to South
African women in your caption.
3. Record a selfie video expressing your love letter to the women of South Africa