{"id":52971,"date":"2019-03-21T06:02:27","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T04:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/udexpress\/beauty-pageant-speaks-out-against-abuse-20190320-2\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T22:25:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T20:25:19","slug":"beauty-pageant-speaks-out-against-abuse-20190320-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/udexpress\/beauty-pageant-speaks-out-against-abuse-20190320-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Beauty pageant speaks out against abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A former resident from Uitenhage, who nowadays lives in Cape Town, is a Commonwealth Pageant Mrs Universe South Africa finalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feerouza Kruger (37) is a qualified accountant and tax practitioner, but volunteerism and charitable work are her passion. The latter include being a board member of St Luke\u2019s Hospice and she serves on the executive committee of the Summer Greens Neighbourhood Watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have always been someone who likes to be involved in my community. After our home was broken into, I joined the neighbourhood watch, as I felt I have to help make a difference in keeping our area safe for our children,\u201d said Feerouza, a mother of two daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her husband, Naseer Kruger, shares her passion of involvement and also serves on the neighbourhood watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is especially women and child abuse which has always been a pet hate of Feerouza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe it is because I grew up in an era where women did not speak up about being abused. Though it is more spoken about these days, there still are too many women and children who are abused daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA child is raped every 3 minutes and that is a terrible statistic. We need to do whatever we can to protect the women and children of our world,\u201d said Feerouza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore she has chosen Matla A Bana, which provides counselling rooms and comfort packs to abused children, as the charity that she will be supporting as a Commonwealth Pageant Mrs Universe South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am hoping to provide as many comfort packs and counselling rooms as possible during my journey and hope to raise awareness of these heinous crimes,\u201d said Feerouza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hometown memories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUitenhage will always be my home town. A lot has changed, but one thing that will always remain is the good people that live there,\u201d said Feerouza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feerouza\u2019s mother Arwatief Jappie still resides in Uitenhage. So does her sister, Sakeena Muller as well as many other family members. Feerouza matriculated 20 years ago at Uitenhage High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Muslim female she dresses modestly and generally beauty pageants are not seen as something Muslim women would take part in as most have a swimwear section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe organisers allowed me to wear a burkini and cover up. In that way I will be representing Muslim women and showing the world that modesty is beautiful too.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n