Once bullied for being chubby, Tongaat’s Bongie is taking a stand for plus-size women

Having grown up bullied and mocked for being a chubby girl, Bongie Mhlanga is celebrating her larger size – by entering the Miss South Africa Plus Size pageant.

“I grew up with very low self-esteem due to the mocking I used to get and I was called all kinds of nasty names. At some point when I was still at tertiary, I put myself under so much pressure. I was dieting, exercising and I was very stressed about my body. I lost so much weight and I became very skinny. I gained my confidence and when I went home, my dad asked, ‘Are you sick?’.

“I said no, but that I had just lost weight. To my surprise, he said, ‘you look ugly. I want my chubby girl back’. I asked my friends and they agreed with him.”

That was the turning point for the girl from Newtown, Tongaat. She started by shoving all the negative comments to the back of her mind.

“Now when someone calls me ‘sdudla’, I say ‘esihle’ (beautiful) and I walk with confidence. I accommodated so many negative people that today, I have no room for negativity. I just find the positive in everything and focus on that instead,” said Bongie.

After realising her beauty, she started looking for an agency to take her in as a model.

Her positive attitude is yielding results and the buxom woman is a popular brand ambassador.

“I want to show the world that there is nothing wrong with being a plus-size woman. Yes, by all means, we need to be healthy but that does not mean you need to be ashamed of yourself for being a big built woman.”

The 35-year-old mother of one works as an Isizulu translator at the Ntuzuma Magistrates Court.

The Miss South Africa Plus Size pageant will be held in Bloemfontein next April and hopes to be featured on the AN+SM television reality show (a series about plus sized women, where 12 ladies compete to be in the show).

For her to win the competition, she will need the help of supporters to vote for her by SMSing ‘Plus Bongie’ to 47495.

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