Miss SA finalist keeps head held high amidst xenophobic attacks

Miss South Africa finalist and LLB student, Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina, has kept confident in her running for the national crown, despite ongoing xenophobic attacks on social media.

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The Miss South Africa Top 9 finalist has faced ongoing backlash about her nationality on social media, after it was discovered that the South African beauty queen’s father is Nigerian.

Chidimma was born to her Nigerian father and South African mother of Mozambique descent in Johannesburg.

She was raised in Soweto before moving to Cape Town, where she is currently based. There, Chidimma studies a degree in law, and plays netball for the Western Province.

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A post shared by Chidimma Adetshina (@chichi_vanessa)

The 23-year-old told Sowetan SMag that when she excitedly entered Miss South Africa, she did not expect to face attacks or suspicion surrounding her nationality.

“I was so excited to enter Miss SA and honestly, I didn’t think that far as to what the public would think. But once I got to the top 16, that’s when I felt it. People on X [formerly Twitter] were asking why I’m competing because I’m not South African. They questioned my nationality, along with my parents’,” she said.

 

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A post shared by Miss South Africa (@official_misssa)

As she has climbed the ranks of the national pageant, of which she is now a top finalist, Chidimma says that the criticism and attacks on social media have ramped up.

“At first I ignored it but as I progressed in the competition, the criticism started growing by the day. Until I thought to myself, I am representing a country but I don’t feel the love from the people I’m representing – I even asked myself, ‘Is it worth it?’”

Despite the lack of support on local fronts and some uncertainty regarding how to set the record straight, the beauty queen sees the controversy as an opportunity to educate others.

“I’m at a point where I don’t know whether I should keep quiet or set the record straight because there’s a lot that’s being misconstrued. To me, I see this as an opportunity where I can educate people, I just need to see how I go about it,” she said.

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Feature Image: Instagram / @chichi_vanessa