Sibanda revealed her struggles during an In Conversation
with Trevor episode, where she opened up about several challenges that she
faced as a woman.
“Sometimes, I would go to the ladies room and women would
panic thinking that a boy had walked in. Some would come and touch my cheeks
and say: ‘he is so cute’. Those things were very uncomfortable and if I did not
have strong parents they would have affected me,” Sibanda said.
Despite the challenges, Sibanda said her life later changed
for the better as she won the Miss Universe title in 1996 and is now a
successful female entrepreneur.
Sibanda narrated an incident which happened in Harare where
two Ndebele-speaking women describing her as skinny.
“They went on about how thin and skinny I was, saying I
probably came from a country affected by hunger. They laughed as they talked about me, not
knowing that I was a Ndebele speaker. That day, I was with my sister-in-law. When we got to the till, I then spoke in
Ndebele and one of them was shocked and ran away, while the other stood by and
kept apologising to me.”
Sibanda said despite criticism, she never stopped striving
to achieve her goals.
She became a model and the people who used to criticise her
looks, saw her on international pageants and on television. Her life changed as
critics began to admire her, describing her as a tall beautiful woman.
“Suddenly I became elegant — a butterfly that started off
as a caterpillar. Things changed and as
I look at my story, it teaches one that you are not going to be the best
version of yourself if you don’t accept who you are first. People made me feel
like I was not worthy,” Sibanda said. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment