“You Are the Most Powerful Beings in the World,” New Miss Universe Tells Young Girls

The New Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi, described by the Jury as “a proud advocate for natural beauty” – is the first black woman in years to win that title. And she took the stage to promote girls’ power.

“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,” says the 26-year-old winner, who became Miss South Africa in her home country. “I think that it is time that that stops today.”

Her final question was about what young girls should be learning today, to which she answered with leadership. “It’s something that has been lacking in young girls and women for a very long time – not because we don’t want to, but because of what society has labelled women to be,” she says, adding, “I think we are the most powerful beings on the world, and that we should be given every opportunity. And that is what we should be teaching these young girls – to take up space.”

Tunzi is the first black woman to win the competition – held in Atlanta, United States with 90 contestants – since the Angolan Leila Lopes in 2011.