"I love being a mum," says Rethabile Tsosane, Miss World Lesotho 2016. The beauty queen who is a first-time mum is excited at her new assignment and does not shy away from it. "Being a mum gives me so much life and purpose," she says. "I feel like I'm looking forward to each and every day and achieving more of my goals. It's a feeling that is out of this world and I really can't explain it!" she exclaims.
Rethabile who prefers to be called, Thabie was crowned Miss Lesotho in 2016, which she says was her first contest. Participating in the competition boosted my confidence levels. "My confidence wasn't too high but it build my confidence. I also got the title, Top Model 2016," says Thabie.
Thabie's journey into the fashion world can be traced back to when she was a little girl about eight years old when she got an opportunity to advertise kids clothes. "Mum entered me in a fashion show that was showcasing children's clothes and I fell in love with the industry since then," she says. Thabie says that if her son chose a similar path, she would support him as it boosted her confidence.
"Other than putting you in the spotlight, modelling doesn't really do much for you in my country as it is not a well-defined career unlike in a place like South Africa where you can make a career out of it. But I would still support my son if he became a model," says Thabie.
The beauty queen who is a nurse/midwife by profession says being a medic helped her win the crown. "My nursing career came in handy as it helped me with 'My beauty with a purpose' project. I was able to create mini-mobile clinics with the help of colleagues and we were able to take medical services to patients in areas that were not easily accessible," explains Thabie. "Lesotho is quite mountainous and some areas are hard to access and have no health facilities," she says.
"It was an honour to travel to Washington DC in the US to represent my country for the Miss World Contest. It was a beautiful experience and a great holiday too," says
Thabie. "I learned a lot from the competition but the highlight for me was seeing 180 girls on one stage doing a synchronised performance and not a single girl getting it wrong," she says. "It taught me that dedication and giving your all will always get you there. When you commit your time to practise on anything, it will work," she notes. Meeting girls from different countries was big, too, she says.
Thabie says she feels she is a better person now. "I learned the power of dedicating oneself to what you want to achieve. I also learned the need to avoid things that put one in difficult situations and how to related and have conversations with total strangers," she says. "The Miss World pageantry also boosted my career and introduced me to various brands; like natural hair products and clothes line," says Thabie.
She is a believer of maintaining natural hair and tries as much as she can to use natural products. "I keep my hair away from heat. After washing, I let it dry on its own without a hair drier," she says. The new mum says she has been lucky since her body bounced back to its original form after birth. "Nothing really changed other than a few stretch marks here and there," says Thabie. "I don't struggle much with weight; I'm a naturally slim person," she says.
At the moment, I'm enjoying taking care of my young family, says Thabie. She says she does not let society pressure her into doing things that she does not believe in. "I respect myself and now as a wife and mother, you can't dress a certain way," she says.
On the challenges that she faced on her journey, Thabie says that the only challenge was during the competition since her country does not support pageantry. "We had to finance ourselves," she says. "Governments should consider supporting the beauty industry since beauty queens do a lot of community work and acts of kindness. If the leaders can take note of that and support it, a lot of people in the society can get help and they can benefit from these pageants," she explains.
Thabie advises younger girls to work on their confidence levels and avoid bleaching themselves, which has become big business in Africa. "There is too much pressure from the outside to look, walk, talk a certain way but it is important to realise that self-confidence comes from the inside. You are your own pillar," she advises.
"Growing up, I was a skinny girl with a big forehead. The kids teased me and laughed at me but I learned to love myself," she says. "Primary school wasn't much fun for me as I got bullied. I was an introvert and refused to succumb to peer pressure, which did not make me too popular with the other kids. As a result, I had very few friends," she speaks about her school days. "My high school days were fun since I attended a public school and I loved it. It was a different environment unlike my primary school which was a private institution," she says.
Thabie is convinced that a beauty queen can come from any country though she has her reservations. "I think the state of our finances and our economy works against us. Also many of the organisers of the international pageants do not know most of the African countries," she says. "It is not easy going there to represent a small land-locked country that nobody knows about. But nonetheless you stand tall and be confident. I feel that countries like Mexico, Italy, US, China and Japan stand out. Closer home, South Africa, Botswana and Kenya also stand out," says Thabie.
As regards her take on Miss Talent Global (MTG), Thabie feels it is going to revolutionalise Africa and uphold the girl-child. "I feel MTG will help a lot of girls since we can't all match the international standards of beauty. We don't have long, silky hair and most girls feel the need to wear long wigs to fit in," she says.
"MTG will help African girls appreciate that they are African and it will also help the world appreciate and recognise Africa and what we have to offer to the world. If I was a judge on MTG, the first thing I would check is if the beauty came with brains. What one does for their country even before they are crowned tells a lot about the kind of person they are because we are all about humanity," she explains.
"I would also love to see confident women on stage. Do not go for a nose job because you want to get a sharp nose. Don't change who you are. I would also love to see women who embrace their authenticity. If your hair is kinky, rock it!" she says.
At the moment, Thabie says she has taken a back seat on her modelling career. "For now my main focus is on my family. I have put a hold on modelling," she says. "I'm also a big advocate for breastfeeding so my plan is to breastfeed my son until he's two years... or beyond," she says.
Thabie who says she was expecting during the pandemic shares her fears of coming home every evening after spending the day nursing Covid 19 patients and still had to attend to her infant son. She currently works in a health division clinic that provides all medical services. Previously, Thabie worked at the Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMS) in Maseru. "Working during the pandemic has been challenging but we survived by God's grace. My husband who is a doctor is also very supportive. As a medic, he understands the pressures of being in the medical field. In future we would want to own our own clinic," she says in conclusion.
Rethabile who prefers to be called, Thabie was crowned Miss Lesotho in 2016, which she says was her first contest. Participating in the competition boosted my confidence levels. "My confidence wasn't too high but it build my confidence. I also got the title, Top Model 2016," says Thabie.
Thabie's journey into the fashion world can be traced back to when she was a little girl about eight years old when she got an opportunity to advertise kids clothes. "Mum entered me in a fashion show that was showcasing children's clothes and I fell in love with the industry since then," she says. Thabie says that if her son chose a similar path, she would support him as it boosted her confidence.
"Other than putting you in the spotlight, modelling doesn't really do much for you in my country as it is not a well-defined career unlike in a place like South Africa where you can make a career out of it. But I would still support my son if he became a model," says Thabie.
The beauty queen who is a nurse/midwife by profession says being a medic helped her win the crown. "My nursing career came in handy as it helped me with 'My beauty with a purpose' project. I was able to create mini-mobile clinics with the help of colleagues and we were able to take medical services to patients in areas that were not easily accessible," explains Thabie. "Lesotho is quite mountainous and some areas are hard to access and have no health facilities," she says.
"It was an honour to travel to Washington DC in the US to represent my country for the Miss World Contest. It was a beautiful experience and a great holiday too," says
Thabie. "I learned a lot from the competition but the highlight for me was seeing 180 girls on one stage doing a synchronised performance and not a single girl getting it wrong," she says. "It taught me that dedication and giving your all will always get you there. When you commit your time to practise on anything, it will work," she notes. Meeting girls from different countries was big, too, she says.
Thabie says she feels she is a better person now. "I learned the power of dedicating oneself to what you want to achieve. I also learned the need to avoid things that put one in difficult situations and how to related and have conversations with total strangers," she says. "The Miss World pageantry also boosted my career and introduced me to various brands; like natural hair products and clothes line," says Thabie.
She is a believer of maintaining natural hair and tries as much as she can to use natural products. "I keep my hair away from heat. After washing, I let it dry on its own without a hair drier," she says. The new mum says she has been lucky since her body bounced back to its original form after birth. "Nothing really changed other than a few stretch marks here and there," says Thabie. "I don't struggle much with weight; I'm a naturally slim person," she says.
At the moment, I'm enjoying taking care of my young family, says Thabie. She says she does not let society pressure her into doing things that she does not believe in. "I respect myself and now as a wife and mother, you can't dress a certain way," she says.
On the challenges that she faced on her journey, Thabie says that the only challenge was during the competition since her country does not support pageantry. "We had to finance ourselves," she says. "Governments should consider supporting the beauty industry since beauty queens do a lot of community work and acts of kindness. If the leaders can take note of that and support it, a lot of people in the society can get help and they can benefit from these pageants," she explains.
Thabie advises younger girls to work on their confidence levels and avoid bleaching themselves, which has become big business in Africa. "There is too much pressure from the outside to look, walk, talk a certain way but it is important to realise that self-confidence comes from the inside. You are your own pillar," she advises.
"Growing up, I was a skinny girl with a big forehead. The kids teased me and laughed at me but I learned to love myself," she says. "Primary school wasn't much fun for me as I got bullied. I was an introvert and refused to succumb to peer pressure, which did not make me too popular with the other kids. As a result, I had very few friends," she speaks about her school days. "My high school days were fun since I attended a public school and I loved it. It was a different environment unlike my primary school which was a private institution," she says.
Thabie is convinced that a beauty queen can come from any country though she has her reservations. "I think the state of our finances and our economy works against us. Also many of the organisers of the international pageants do not know most of the African countries," she says. "It is not easy going there to represent a small land-locked country that nobody knows about. But nonetheless you stand tall and be confident. I feel that countries like Mexico, Italy, US, China and Japan stand out. Closer home, South Africa, Botswana and Kenya also stand out," says Thabie.
As regards her take on Miss Talent Global (MTG), Thabie feels it is going to revolutionalise Africa and uphold the girl-child. "I feel MTG will help a lot of girls since we can't all match the international standards of beauty. We don't have long, silky hair and most girls feel the need to wear long wigs to fit in," she says.
"MTG will help African girls appreciate that they are African and it will also help the world appreciate and recognise Africa and what we have to offer to the world. If I was a judge on MTG, the first thing I would check is if the beauty came with brains. What one does for their country even before they are crowned tells a lot about the kind of person they are because we are all about humanity," she explains.
"I would also love to see confident women on stage. Do not go for a nose job because you want to get a sharp nose. Don't change who you are. I would also love to see women who embrace their authenticity. If your hair is kinky, rock it!" she says.
At the moment, Thabie says she has taken a back seat on her modelling career. "For now my main focus is on my family. I have put a hold on modelling," she says. "I'm also a big advocate for breastfeeding so my plan is to breastfeed my son until he's two years... or beyond," she says.
Thabie who says she was expecting during the pandemic shares her fears of coming home every evening after spending the day nursing Covid 19 patients and still had to attend to her infant son. She currently works in a health division clinic that provides all medical services. Previously, Thabie worked at the Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMS) in Maseru. "Working during the pandemic has been challenging but we survived by God's grace. My husband who is a doctor is also very supportive. As a medic, he understands the pressures of being in the medical field. In future we would want to own our own clinic," she says in conclusion.