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UFS student Lerato Pitso set to represent Lesotho in Miss Supranational pageant

18 November 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Supplied

Lerato Pitso, a Bachelor of Social Sciences student at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been selected to represent her home country of Lesotho in the prestigious Miss Supranational competition, which will be held in Poland in 2023. “I’m still nervous about the fact that I have been selected to represent my country in this competition. However, the selection means that I have a lot of people who actually believe in me,” Pitso stated.

Miss Supranational

Miss Supranational is an internationally recognised beauty pageant overseen by the World Beauty Association.This is the third time that a UFS student has participated in this international competition. Earlier this year Boitumelo Sehlotho, a Bachelor of Accounting student at the UFS, who was also named the Face of Lesotho in 2019, represented her country at the Miss Supranational pageant 2022. Thato Mosehle, a graduate from the Faculty of Health Sciences, was runner-up in the Miss Supranational pageant held in Poland in 2021.

Pitso perceives the pageant as a platform to encourage young women to do more to change the world. She was selected to represent Lesotho in the competition based on the contributions she made in and around her community.

Community Engagement

Pitso’s community engagement includes participation in a digital inclusion campaign in Lesotho. “The campaign intended to involve accountable ministries in addressing technological issues to empower students with technological skills to be competent for the global environment. Pitso was also involved in the Meal in a Jar initiative, which was run by the Office for International Affairs at the UFS. Through this initiative, high school learners in the Grassland community in Bloemfontein were taught to recycle materials, and to produce new products which they could then sell for profit. “The project aimed to spark an entrepreneurial mindset,” said Pitso. In addition, she has also worked with the SHE-HIVE Association, a non-governmental organisation based in Maseru, Lesotho, which offers counselling and legal assistance to those who have been affected by gender-based violence. As such, Pitso asserts that she is the best to represent her nation based on the work she has put in.

Preparing for the Miss Supranational stage

Pitso said getting ready for a competition of this magnitude is a huge undertaking. “Preparation for the big stage includes rigorous training in which one learns to walk in a certain manner, and a commitment to the gym in order to be physically fit for the competition.” She also asserts that taking care of her mental health is a priority before walking on that stage.

It is also important to note that the last two winners of the competition are from Africa, and this serves as motivation for Pitso. “The fact that people who come from a similar society to me could attain the prize makes me believe in myself. It means that it’s also possible for me to put in the work and excel in the competition,” she said.

News Archive

UFS academic speaks on Islamic terrorism

2012-09-12

Prof. Hussein Solomon

Senior Professor Hussein Solomon from the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State (UFS) says it is imperative that we understand how ordinary Muslims are socialised, violently radicalised and primed to engage in acts of terror.

He was speaking at the Inter Religion Forum in the Faculty of Theology on the topic, “The rise of Islamist fundamentalist thought”.

According to Prof. Solomon, “The war on terror is truly a struggle between competing ideologies, after all, before a suicide bomber detonates his/her vest he/she must be ideologically indoctrinated to believe that what he/she is doing is the ‘right’ thing both in terms of the act and target.” Prof. Hussein, however, assured that the pure teaching of Islamic is not in favour of terrorism and killing.

Most of the twentieth century witnessed an ideological struggle between freedom and democracy. According to Prof. Solomon, “democracy” won that struggle. “The ideological struggle between freedom and authoritarianism is, however, far from over and thus we witness a clash of two competing ideologies across the globe,” he said.

He added that this is not an inter-civilizational conflict. “It rather is occurring within Muslim societies and between radical Islamists and the West.”

“A major battle is taking place in Islam between moderates, who in my view are the real Muslims, and the Islamo-fascists. Non-Muslims cannot simply regard this battle as an internal struggle. They need to support the moderate Muslim actively.”

“Should moderate Muslims lose this struggle, a clash of civilisations will become inevitable and the future will resemble a world of a war of all against all,” Prof. Solomon said.

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