Zozibini Tunzi

I am inspired by the likes of Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana and those of their calibre. They understood fully what it means to be selfless and to stand for something.

You're not taught to be ambitious as a woman. And so when you are, sometimes you shy away from it or you're scared of voicing your opinions.

I think women should be in women's corner even more, wherever... across the world, women need to be in each other's corners.

I'm so grateful to have been able to go to the world and tell the story of South African women and South African children. As I stood there for Miss Universe, I spoke about leadership and I spoke about empowering young women and young boys as well.

There's something about home that you just can't find anywhere else in the world.

My life since the Miss Universe win has changed completely, in fact I do not think my life will ever be the same again.

The platform Miss Universe has given me has exceeded my wildest expectations.

Coming from the Eastern Cape, it's one of the most poverty-stricken provinces in the country, so whether it be in education or something else, I'd like to go directly there and help because I've seen it first-hand and experienced it.

It was a question I got asked often from my friends when they heard I had entered Miss S.A. - 'will you get a weave?' I always said I haven't changed myself before so why should I now change for a competition?

I stand for the education of the South African youth, for equality and representation, as Miss South Africa, I cannot wait to make a contribution to these important social causes.

For as long as I can remember, I always knew that I had to do something extraordinary with my life.

We're really taught to be followers from a very young age - men lead and women follow.

I didn't enter Miss S.A. because I thought I was the most beautiful woman in S.A., I entered because it's one of the few platforms that give women the ability to lead and I knew I had a powerful voice and message to send out.

I always knew I had to find a way to be a catalyst for positive change.

I knew that to live a fulfilling life I had to live a purposeful life; a life of service.

As Miss South Africa, I cannot wait to make a contribution to important social causes.

Women are not one-dimensional, we come in different shapes and sizes, and we are all equally beautiful.

Beauty is subjective, so people's opinions don't really matter.

I believe that beauty means being comfortable with who you are.

I have been feeling the love of South Africans since I got crowned Miss South Africa, even before going to Miss Universe. Because of that, while I was walking on the Miss Universe stage, I knew that I was there as one body, but as I stood on that stage, I stood as millions of South Africans.

Every time people ask me, 'Did you know that you would be Miss Universe?', my answer is, 'I didn't know that I would be Miss Universe because I didn't know it was possible for someone like me.'

When you leave home, then you leave with the possibility of not returning.

I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair, was never considered to be beautiful.

If learners do not have a roof under which they can learn we are already setting them up for failure.

I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.