The government has withdrawn its support for the Miss South Africa pageant after it was unable to convince organisers to pull out of the Miss Universe pageant which will be held in Israel in December 2021.

Reports claim that the decision came after growing calls for the reigning Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, to boycott the pageant that is scheduled to take place in Eilat on December 12. Mswane will join participants from close to 70 countries at the Miss Universe pageant.

The Miss South Africa organization has faced a backlash following an announcement that the reigning titleholder would compete at Miss Universe 2021, hosted in Israel, despite growing calls to boycott the competition. The Palestine Solidarity Alliance took to social media to accuse Mswane of not caring about the plight of Palestinians and being “worried about her self gains”.

The Israeli government has been accused of committing crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians. Apartheid amounts to state-sanctioned racial discrimination and is considered a crime against humanity. In 2019, South Africa downgraded its embassy in Tel Aviv and recalled its ambassador.

Mswane beat nine other finalists from around the country to clinch the Miss South Africa 2021 title.

The statement reads;

The South African government withdraws its support and that of South Africa for the Miss South Africa pageant following the latter’s intransigence and disregard of advice against partaking in the Miss Universe pageant scheduled to be held in Israel during December 2021.

Following unsuccessful consultations initiated by the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, it has proven difficult to persuade the Miss SA pageant organisers to reconsider their decision to partake in the Miss Universe event scheduled to be held in Israel during December 2021. What during initial consultations appeared like engaging, constructive and progressive discussions, was later met with an unpleasant demeanor that is intransigent and lacking appreciation of the potential negative impact of such a decision on the reputation and future of a young black woman.

The atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented and the Government, as the legitimate representative of the people of South Africa, cannot in good conscience associate itself with such. In an attempt to demonstrate what partaking in Miss Universe means for South Africans and many others across the world, the Miss SA pageant organizers were referred to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s views following his visit to the area. Indicating that Israel was guilty of the apartheid treatment of Palestinians, he said, “Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government.”

Whilst appreciative of the likely impact on the individual interest of the current Miss South Africa, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture strongly believes that reasons that require withdrawal far outweigh individual interests. “If anything, by withdrawing, Miss South Africa’s reputation and overall standing will be far more advanced in South Africa and internationally in comparison to a once-off event that can prove disastrous to her future and public standing as a young, black woman,” explained Minister Nathi Mthethwa.

“Our first preference was to try and find each other to issue a joint media statement. This has regrettably been unsuccessful, hence the decision now to publicly distance the Government and the people of South Africa from Miss SA pageant organizer’s stance on this matter”, said Minister Nathi Mthethwa. “But even so, we still hope some common sense will prevail in the interest of the reigning queen, Lalela Mswane; and we remain open for discussions in that regard.”