DURBAN - Medical doctor Karishma Ramdev was selected as a Top 15 finalist in Miss South Africa 2020 – her second attempt at the crown.
Ramdev, 25, who was raised in Chatsworth, Durban, lives in Joburg. She works at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.
She shared her views on current local and global issues with the POST.
Q: In 2018, you made the Miss SA Top 5. Why have you decided to try again?
A: My father always told me as a child “it is better to try and fail than fail to try”, and I have lived by those words for most of my life. It has always been my dream to be Miss South Africa and I live my life with no regrets. I have so much to share with our country and if I were given the chance to work with the Miss SA organisation, together, we could make a lasting impact.
Q: Share your views on the rise of gender-based violence in South Africa and how you would, through the Miss SA title, hope to make a positive impact on the fight against violence against women and children?
A: We, as women, have realised our true power and potential and we are rising to fight against the injustices we have to face daily. The problem, though, is that we do not include men in this fight. It is only when they see, realise and understand our struggles that they will also fight against gender-based violence. We need to include them more and they need to fight for us too. I would love to travel our country, educating women and men and encouraging women to speak up and never feel like they need to be silent.
Q: The Department of Basic Education wants children to return to school in phases. Grades 7 and 12 pupils have returned and from Monday other grades are scheduled to go back on Monday. What is your view on children returning to school as the infection and death rate increases as the economy opens?
A: Education is such an important foundation in the lives of children. I believe that they all deserve to get one. It’s not easy to say when and how a child should receive their education as that is the duty of their parents. They are the ones who love and care for them daily and they should have the final say on whether or not they want their children at school during the coronavirus pandemic. Children need to be educated by their parents on how to social distance, hand wash, sanitise and wear masks.
Q: Some tertiary students are concerned that before the lockdown, job opportunities were limited. And now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, job prospects might be limited in their chosen fields. What advice would you give to despondent students and what should they be doing to make themselves marketable?
A: This has honestly broken my heart as our youth unemployment rate is alarmingly high. I understand their worries and fears as many of them are first-time graduates with their entire families looking to them to try to end a vicious poverty cycle. It’s time they turn their fear into productivity. Complaining at home will get you nowhere and no closer to your goal. My advice would be to try and gain as much extra experience while studying so that you don’t only have a degree but companies can see that you have learnt and done other things. In this way, you are portraying yourself as a hard worker who is able to multitask and you are a more interesting candidate for employment.
Q: The Black Lives Matter campaign has reached global levels – with peaceful demonstrations in SA as well. What are your views on the campaign, in relation to similar race issues in this country. And how do you think race-based issues should be handled?
A: I am all for the Black Lives Matter campaign. I believe that black lives matter is the minimum. We should rather be saying: black lives are loved, black lives are needed and black lives are wanted. We are all one race and that’s the human race. We need to rise together in the spirit of ubuntu and fight the struggle with our people. In terms of race-based issues, we all need to come together for each other instead of standing from a distance, watching, just because it doesn’t involve our race group. People should not be saying that they see no colour. Of course we can see our skins are different. We should be seeing each other’s differences and loving each other, regardless. We need to celebrate our diversity.
MORE ON RAMDEV:
Her dad, Karun, is an optometrist and her mother, Komla, a radiographer. She has two brothers – Aveshan, 29, who was born with trisomy 18q+ (a rare chromosomal disorder associated with abnormalities in parts of the body), and Sashin, 22, who is studying veterinary science.
Ramdev, 25, obtained her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees (MBChB) from the University of Pretoria last year.
She is completing her internship at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.
Due to her busy work schedule, Ramdev said she usually got home exhausted. In her spare time, she enjoys relaxing on her couch, watching Netflix.
“I also enjoy keeping healthy with some at-home fitness during the lockdown. My biggest hobby of all is horse-riding. I have always felt like I’m flying through the air.”
With so much on her plate, she said it was important to find a work-life balance.
“I have learnt the art of time management. It is important to factor in what you’re going to do, when, and stick to it. I also focus on what is important and what adds value to my life.”
Her message to girls and women is not to feel as though the country has given up on them.
“Let what is happening to women be the fuel that starts the fire within your heart to make a change. One person alone cannot change the trajectory and views of women in society, but together we can make a difference. We can fight for the right to be seen as equals and our voices will be heard.”
If she were to win the Miss South Africa crown and meet one person, she said it would be Queen Elizabeth II: “I could ask her advice on how to keep my crown as shiny as hers.”
Her role models are her mother and former US first lady Michelle Obama. She is also inspired by former Miss South Africa (1997), Kerishnie Naiker.
“She grew up in my home town and achieved the same dream I have. I see myself echoed in her from the time I was a child until now, and her reign and campaign with regard to TB were incredible.”