21-year-old student wins Miss Gay Western Cape 2016 title

A University of Stellenbosch student was crowned Miss Gay Western Cape 2016 on Saturday night.

The 8th edition of the popular annual pageant took place at the Joseph Stone Auditorium in Cape Town to a sold out crowd.

Thirteen finalists, who were pre-judged a week before the event, competed for the title. The contestants were further judged on the night for their swimwear, theme wear and evening-wear; and for the top five, a question from the judges.

The theme for this year’s pageant was “Honouring our Heroes” which saw outfits representing heroes such as Princess Diana, Evita Bezuidenhout, the 49 men and women of the Pulse nightclub massacre and many others.

Twenty-one-year-old Belinda Qaqamba Fassie, a third-year B Social work student from Elands Bay, was the night’s big winner, taking home the crown.

She impressed with her theme outfit which displayed various leaders and contributors who played a role in the inclusion of the Equality Clause in South Africa’s Constitution. Her orange swimsuit was equally impressive and her evening wear was a tight-fitting couture white gown.

“It’s a dream come true. I really worked hard. I’m celebrating and appreciating all the love and support,” Fassie told Mambaonline.

“I competed last year but I didn’t make it so I went back this year with a new plan and it worked. Last year I wanted to learn because I wasn’t familiar with pageants. This year I took everything I learned and I utilised it,” she said.

When asked what she wants to achieve with the title, Fassie said she hoped to “create a sense of community and togetherness in our LGBTI community” and to highlight the fact that transgender, bisexual and other often-forgotten categories of individuals also fall under the LGBTI umbrella.

“I want to create those kinds of robust conversations and events as a way of educating our fellow LGBTIQA brothers and sisters. I don’t want to do pageants and cabaret shows, because these things have been done before. I want to do something different with my title,” she said.

The 1st Princess was Laylah Zokufa Khan while Emogen Moore was crowned the 2nd Princess.

Entertainment for the night was provided by SA’s Got Talent runner-up Manila von Teez, Janice, Kat Gilardi and Friends, 3D and X Factor winners, Four. MC Nathan Kayster also had the audience in stitches.