Qhawekazi Mazaleni Reveals She’s Pursuing Her Master’s Degree

Miss South Africa 2025 and speech therapist Qhawekazi Mazaleni is proving that her journey extends far beyond the crown, as she continues to pursue her academic goals while using her platform to raise awareness about Autism.

The beauty queen recently had a radio interview with YFM, where she revealed that she is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree at the University of Pretoria. Qhawekazi enrolled for her Master’s Degree in 2024, continuing her studies in Speech-Language Pathology.

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During the interview, she opened up about her area of focus, revealing that her Master’s research is centred around Autism within the South African context, particularly helping parents and caregivers better understand Autism.

“I’m doing my Master’s at the University of Pretoria and I’m specifically focusing on Autism within the South African context, but specifically parents and care givers understand Autism. As South Africa’s its still quite taboo, but what I’ve done on my platform is that I created a series called ‘Autism in South Africa’ where we just break down some of the questions that a lot do parents have. A lot of the feedback that I’ve received is that for parents themselves they’ve been able to understand their children a lot better, but one thing that’s been special is that they also understand now how to go about getting the help and support that they need.”

Her Master’s journey has also connected closely with the work she has chosen to highlight through her platform. Qhawekazi has created a series titled ‘Autism in South Africa’, where she discusses some of the questions and concerns parents may have about Autism.

According to the beauty queen, the response to the initiative has been encouraging, particularly from parents who have gained a better understanding of their children and learned more about where to find support.

Qhawekazi already had a strong academic background before beginning her Master’s. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Therapy at Stellenbosch University in 2023 before enrolling at the University of Pretoria for her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology in 2024.

Now, while holding the Miss South Africa 2025 title, she continues to balance her responsibilities as a beauty queen with her academic journey and advocacy work.

Her commitment to Autism awareness highlights another side of Qhawekazi’s journey, showing how she is using both her education and her platform to contribute to important conversations in South Africa.