Chedino

South Africa, 2012 - present

For the past 13 years, Chedino Martin — a transgender activist and beauty pageant organiser — has graciously let me follow her personal journey to become Miss Trans Global Africa. Chedino’s story has unfolded alongside the wider struggle for LGBTQ rights in South Africa. While the country slowly grew into its role as Africa’s largest economy, she too was carving out a place for herself in the world.

Unable to afford gender-affirming surgery, Chedino’s only option was to join the waiting list at the Transgender Clinic at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town — one of the few units in the country performing such procedures. With surgical time for only four operations each year, the wait could be endless. For those unable to pay the $16,500 private fee, the system offers little more than hope. In August 2017, after 17 years of waiting — including seven years on the clinic’s official list — Chedino was finally wheeled into the operating theatre at Groote Schuur.

Since then, her life has been marked by personal milestones: marriage, the continuation of her Calendar Girls beauty pageant in Cape Town, and a first trip abroad to represent South Africa at the Miss Trans Global pageant in the UK, where she placed fifth. She is now preparing to compete at Miss Universe in India at the end of 2025.

Calendar Girls remains central to her work as an activist. What began as a beauty contest has become a platform to celebrate older women, challenge stereotypes around ageing, and address the mental health struggles that often remain hidden in her community. Through it, Chedino continues to make space for others to be seen — just as she has fought for her own place in the world.