By OKTimileyin
The conversation around sexuality and identity steadily seem to be gaining momentum in Nigeria, where visibility is no longer the focus of community conversations and discuss, but how to properly, and positively utilize the visibility the community has horned, to propagate more social acceptance of Queer folx in Nigeria. Haven properly learnt to harness social media platforms to raise the bar for visibility, more representation and diversity ( being basis of inclusion ) is experienced. We are now our story tellers, our very own pilots of our narratives. More voices are being raised across different forms of human existence on Queerness in Nigeria. The world witnessed the loud ones like the #Endsars Movement, the #EndHomophobiaInNigeria which seem to have shone in a very centrifugal light on the Nigeria Queer community, with its resulting community visibility being the strongest at it’s emerging identity.
With the anonymous ability of the birdie app, the Nigerian queer community has continued to grow in a beautiful, strong , and powerful way, with numeric strength driving more conversation and giving representation in conversations found safe. One of such community conversations which found it way to twitter is that from the trans community. A tweep tweeted
The twitter thread did not just throw a lot of questions into the air and leave us to wonder if answers can be gotten, it brings to the table answers waiting to be heard, struggle wailing to be seen, stories hoping to be told, One of which is “What’s the Nigerian Transwoman Experience” ?
The Nigerian Trans Experience isn’t specifically different from the everyday trans woman who is from a space where legal protection doesn’t exist for queer people, it is the same story of constant confusion, emotional imbalance, physical and mental insecurity, body dysmorphia, paranoia and loneliness. Trans women in Nigeria are getting to learn on their own what transition should be like, forming little sisterhoods to share the pain, trauma, lessons, and laughter from existing on the street of Nigeria.
Across the world, The news of violation and killing of Transwomen are no longer new in the news, and this does not exclude Nigeria. In 2018 a website called 76 crimes published the death of a Trans activist in Abuja with the name Rabina Bamanga who was killed in her own house. By 2020, the Guardian published the story of a Trans woman who escaped death by suicide after being exposed to conversion therapy which included incisions.
In a country like Nigeria, where transphobia is an appreciated feat and TERFs won’t stop making excuses for their own transphobia. Transwomen see each day through “what it takes to see the next day” and not living as they should, walking the streets of Nigeria with high hopes of “passing”, without anyone at the bus-stop having to ask if they are a man or a woman.
This tweep in her thread lined out what it takes to survives the streets of Nigeria as a Trans Woman living in Nigeria or West Africa.
With the twitter thread having up to 10 things to keep themselves (transwomen) safe in Nigeria or West Africa, one is forced to ask how best do anyone who is queer stay safe in Nigeria ? This is the reality of underprivileged queer folx in Nigeria, who don’t have the resources to live in spaces where they can exist without exposure to harm.
Transwomen GoFund me from twitter you might want to support !!!
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