Long before she became a familiar face at Mrs South Africa events, Margaret Hirsch was already pouring her heart into women’s empowerment.

Her philanthropy began not in boardrooms or ballrooms, but in the classrooms and communities where young girls often go unseen, unheard, and unsure of their own potential.

“I work with teenage girls in schools, and so many of them don’t have a role model. But when they see these beautiful women who are married, who have degrees, careers, children, who run homes, they suddenly realise they can become something too.”

This belief isn’t theoretical for Hirsch. It is personal. She grew up in a foster home in Pietermaritzburg. Her beginnings were humble, her circumstances limiting. But her choices were not. “I could have stayed there; I could have been a nobody. But I chose a career, I chose to do good.”

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Today, her work touches thousands of women across South Africa, women she teaches to make money, manage it, and ultimately claim their independence.

Because to her, financial freedom isn’t just a skill; it’s protection. “We can get rid of gender-based violence overnight. No woman has to stay where she doesn’t want to be if she’s financially independent.”

It was this passion that naturally connected her to Mrs South Africa six years ago, a platform that mirrors her mission of transformation.

Through the programme, Hirsch helps women step out of their shells, rediscover their worth, and present the best version of themselves to the world.

“We make them feel beautiful. When you look good, you feel good. And then they just blossom. That amazing person was inside them all along.”

Her work has shaped a new generation of role models, including this year’s queen, Verushka Singh, who joined her for the intimate breakfast in Fourways on November 24.

Singh arrived beaming, still glowing from her recent win. “I am absolutely ecstatic. It’s such a warm, beautiful welcome. It feels like such an honour.”

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While glamorous on stage, her reasons for entering Mrs South Africa were deeply personal.

“As women, we give so much to everyone around us, our families, teams, and homes. Entering was something I did for myself. I wanted to grow, to learn, to step into a new version of who I could be.”

It was never about winning, she insists. It was about rediscovering herself. And through the transformative 10-month programme, she found exactly that: new confidence, sisterhood, and a sense of possibility.

“By the time finals came, I already felt like I had won,” said Singh. Hirsch honoured Singh with her prize for topping the year’s social media category, gifting her the latest Laugh & Hairdryer and Laugh & Toothbrush.

But beyond the gifts and glamour, the morning was about two women whose journeys, though different, intersect in purpose by unlocking the greatness hidden inside others.

“Everyone has a gift. Most of us hold ourselves back. My job is simply to help women come out,” said Hirsch.

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