Quotes from Zozibini Tunzi

We should be teaching young girls to take up space. Nothing is as important as taking up space in society and cementing yourself.

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.

One minute I was a PR intern, the next I was Miss South Africa.

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.

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

People speak about diversity and representation like the world is ready. But when it actually happens, people can't take change. They can't deal with it. Which is why we have things like cyberbullying, which is why people will send you nasty DMs, say nasty things in your comments. Because they're just not dealing with it, they're not ready.

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.

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.

I believe that every single person was brought into this world for a purpose and that we should never leave the world as we found it, we should always strive to make a positive change.

Since sixth grade, I've been learning that the climate is deteriorating and the planet is dying, and it is up to us to keep our planet safe.

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

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

Society has been conditioned for a very long time to see beauty as something that's been westernised.

My thing about gender-based violence is to bring in the men. Because people would ask women, 'What do you think we should do to fight this?' And I'm like, 'Why are you asking me?' I'm not the perpetrator in most of the instances so why don't we call on the people that are?