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Beauty pageant boycott: Why Miss South Africa is on her own in Israel
抵制选美:为什么南非小姐在以色列要孤军奋战?
When Lalela Mswane glided across a Cape Town stage in a red satin ball gown at the finals of the Miss South Africa pageant in October, she moved with the poise of someone who commanded her country’s attention. But in the days after the 24-year-old law student and model was crowned, that gaze took on a sharp edge. Pro-Palestine activists began demanding she boycott the Dec. 12 Miss Universe pageant because it will be held in Israel.
当拉莱拉·姆斯瓦内(Lalela Mswane)在10月份的南非小姐选美决赛中身着红色缎面舞会礼服走过开普敦的舞台时,她的风采吸引了整个国家的关注。但在这位24岁的法律系学生兼模特加冕后的几天里,大家的目光变得尖锐起来。亲巴勒斯坦的活动家开始要求她抵制12月12日的环球小姐选美比赛,因为比赛将在以色列举行。
In mid-November, the South African government withdrew its support for Ms. Mswane’s entry, so she will compete without her country’s backing. “The atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented and Government, as the legitimate representative of the people of South Africa, cannot in good conscience associate itself with such,” wrote the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture in a statement. The pageant organizers, meanwhile, soldiered on, stating that Ms. Mswane “would not be bullied” into boycotting the pageant.
11月中旬,南非政府撤回了对瓦内女士参赛的支持,因此她将在没有国家支持的情况下参赛。"体育、艺术和文化部在一份声明中写道:"以色列对巴勒斯坦人犯下的暴行是有据可查的,政府作为南非人民的合法代表,不能昧着良心与之为伍。同时,选美比赛的组织者也坚持了下来,并表示瓦内女士“不会因为受到威胁”而抵制选美比赛。
The Miss Universe competition may seem an unusual place for a government to stake a major geopolitical stand. But in South Africa, activists say the anti-apartheid movement taught them that the struggle against injustice takes place everywhere, from parliamentary debates and mass marches to boycotts of sports games, grapefruits, and yes, even the stage of a beauty pageant.
对于一个政府来说,环球小姐大赛似乎是一个不同寻常的地方,可以表明重大的地缘政治立场。但在南非,活动人士表示,反种族隔离运动让他们知道,反对不公正的斗争无处不在,从议会辩论、群众游行到抵制体育比赛、西柚,甚至是选美比赛的舞台。