Miss Universe SA: Bryoni Govender launches advocacy campaign
Miss Universe SA Bryoni Govender launched her advocacy campaign titled Her Way Out before she jets off to El Salvador for the pageant.
Miss SA runner up Bryoni Govender, who will be representing South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant, has launched her countrywide advocacy campaign titled Her Way Out. This comes ahead of her participation at the 72nd Miss Universe pageant which taking place in El Salvador on 18 November.
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BRYONI GOVENDER TO REPRESENT SA AT MISS UNIVERSE
Miss SA runner up Bryoni Govender is getting ready to jet off to El Salvador ahead of the Miss Universe finale on 18 November. She will be the first person of Indian heritage to represent South Africa at the international pageant since Miss SA 1997 Kerishnie Naiker.
Bryoni is a law graduate, who hails from Kempton Park, Gauteng. The beauty queen pledged to be an ambassador for women’s rights during the course of her reign with her campaign, Her Way Out. The main objective of the campaign will be to take up the cudgels on behalf of women everywhere and help educate them on their legal rights.
The human rights organisation, the Centre for Constitutional Rights, reports that the femicide rate in South Africa is five times the global average and, according to a United Nations report, South Africa ranks first for rapes per capita.
To make her campaign as effective as possible, the law graduate teamed up with the Social Impact team at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright (which has offices in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) to focus on access to justice projects, amongst others.
Govender has also been appointed as an ambassador for the public benefit organisation Lawyers against Abuse (LvA), who work to ensure meaningful access to justice for victims of gender-based violence by providing legal services and psychosocial support, empowering communities and engaging national authorities.
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THE BEAUTY QUEEN: ‘I WANT TO EMPOWER ALL WOMEN’
According to a press release, Bryoni said that she feels knowledge is key to women empowerment.
“Together with these legal powerhouses, I will travel across South Africa, visiting courthouses and legal clinics, schools and rural community halls – anywhere that I can address women, and help them understand their basic rights and enable them to make informed choices about their lives. What stops women from being empowered and from taking charge of their own destiny? I believe that the answer is simple: Knowledge, or a lack thereof,” she said according to the press release.
“I want to empower all women, no matter the issue, from those battling gender-based violence, pensioners, women with health problems, professional women, mothers, grandmothers and daughters,” she continued.
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