Nollywood actress, Tonto Dike has won the Nigerian Hype Awards for Humanitarian of the Year for her humanitarian works. Excited, she took to her IG page to share pictures of the award and appreciate her team.
We have her Instagram post below
Nigerian-American afro-futuristic writer Nnedi Okorafor will write a 3-part spin-off series off the world-acclaimed superhero movie, Black Panther, Marvel, producers of the blockbuster have announced.
Marvel decided to portray the Dora Milaje characters in Black Panther in a more independent light with the 3-part series.
One of the major highlights of Black Panther was the Dora Milaje, the all-female special forces team that protects the secretive fictional African country of Wakanda.
The first part of the series will be “Amazing Spiderman: Wakanda Forever #1” in June, followed by “X-Men: Wakanda Forever #1” in July and finally “Avengers: Wakanda Forever #1” in August
Speaking to Vogue, Okorafor elaborates on the series.
She said, “Typically when you see them, they’re with T’Challa, representing and protecting him. Now you’re going to see the Dora Miljae for the first time as an independent entity; they’re not under the shadow of the throne.”
On how she felt about writing the series, the award-winning author said it felt natural telling an African story.
“It’s been amazing, and I’ve learned so much along the way. Presenting a vision of the African continent through the sci-fi lens felt completely natural. I like to write the future; the Africa I feel can be and the Africa that will be, that has always been my vision. With Wakanda, a place set in the present but with a futuristic outlook, it wasn’t a hard transition—it made a lot of sense”, she added.
Nnedi Okorafor is an international award-winning novelist of African-based science fiction, fantasy and magical realism for both children and adults.
Born in the United States to two Nigerian parents, Nnedi is known for weaving African culture into creative evocative settings and memorable characters.
In 2016, she won the Hugo Award in the Best Novella category for her book Binti, making her the first Nigerian to win the award.
In 2017, Nnedi announced via Twitter that she would be crafting her first story for Marvel, an 8-page comic titled “Blessing in Disguise”.
The comic is set in Lagos, and will feature as part of Marvel’s Venomverse anthology.
According to the Global Competitiveness Report, Rwanda is the best place to be a woman in Africa, followed by Malawi, Mauritius and Namibia; and fourth globally after Iceland, Norway and Finland.
While other African countries have mostly ignored women empowerment movements, Rwanda is a global leader in commitments related to the #HeforShe campaign – the global solidarity movement for gender equality, developed by UN women and spearheaded by men in support of justice and equality for women.
While Rwanda is not perfect yet, according to the UN, rates of domestic violence are considered high in the country, it still sets an example for Africa and the world in terms of women’s participation across industries.
Nigeria is still (the ninth worst place in Africa and the world to be a woman).
Credit: konbini.com
Multi Award winning artist Rihanna has slammed International multimedia messaging app Snapchat for it’s insensitive advert .
Snapchat recently posted an AD for a game called “Would You Rather?”, featured photos of the two singers and asked users if they would “rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown.”
Brown pleaded guilty in 2009 to assaulting Rihanna during an argument when they were dating.
The “Would You Rather” ad was removed earlier this week, and Snapchat released an apology saying “The advert was reviewed and approved in error, as it violates our advertising guidelines”
Rihanna slammed the company via a statement on her Snapchat account, criticizing the company for making light of domestic violence.
She wrote”Now SNAPCHAT I know you already know you ain’t my fav app out there! But I’m just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess!” the singer wrote. “I’d love to call it ignorance but I know you ain’t that dumb. You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it.”
Credit: fabwoman.ng
Over the weekend, a clip of young Nigerian girls dancing to DJ Spinall and Wizkid’s new song, ‘Nowo’ went viral. It was shared by Rihanna, who used it to celebrate her Apple Music streaming milestone, and Naomi Campbell, who called them ‘dancing queens’
The girls are part of a dance group called Dream Catchers, a team of less-privileged children whose welfare — from education to shelter — are taken care of by its founder, Seyi Oluyole. She uses dance to encourage them to stay in school.
The group took to Instagram to thank Rihanna, Naomi and Diddy — who also shared a clip of the dance group over the weekend — for the publicity. “All our lives, people have looked down on us, but an acknowledgement from [Diddy] has given us hope”, they said on Instagram.
Speaking about the dance crew, Rihanna said:
“I speak on behalf of the entire social media when I say you really brought pure joy to our spirits just by seeing how happy you are when you dance!”
You can follow Dream Catchers on Instagram and learn more about their journey on Oluyole’s website.
Credit: konbini.com
Nigerian singer and rapper, Saeon Moruda a.k.a Omo Ibadan has shared the story of her battle with endometriosis and it is very inspiring.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Saeon took to Instagram to recount her ordeal last year after suffering from Endometriosis, a Cystic Ovary and Fibroid, which she went through surgery for.
Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the lining inside the uterus called “the endometrium”, is found outside the uterus, where it induces a chronic inflammatory reaction that may result in scar tissue.
Now advocating for a walk against Endometriosis and campaigning for a walk against the ailment, the young beautiful musician wrote;
“Last year I went through a tough ordeal. I had been experiencing really excruciating menstrual cramps for a year and they got worse with every cycle. I eventually found out I had been dealing with Endometriosis, a Cystic Ovary and Fibroids; all of which I had to be operated on for.
Prior to the diagnosis, I hadn’t really heard of or paid attention to Endometriosis and I catch myself wishing I had been educated on it as this knowledge could have helped in earlier diagnosis and my not having to go through the stress of some symptoms I dealt with experiencing really excruciating menstrual cramps for a year and they got worse with every cycle.”
Source: fabwoman.ng
The Federal government has congratulated Mo Abudu, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Chimamanda Adichie for winning the Variety Magazine awards.
According to Variety Magazine, these women are among the top 50 women doing extraordinary things on the worldwide stage.
In a statement released on Sunday, March 11, 2018, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed described the women as iconic women in the creative industry.
Lai Mohammed said the already well-adorned cap of Chimamanda Adichie had been further festooned. The minister said the women were role models whose achievements would inspire a generation of young Nigerians to also do extraordinary things.
“Of more importance is the fact that these women’s achievements have transcended gender, nationality or race, placing them on the profound class of global, timeless achievers,” he said.
Credit: Pulse News
Chimamanda Adichie has just been chosen as one of the six recipients of the Duke University’s Honorary Award in Durham, North Carolina come May 13th.
She will be joined by fellow recipients, the CEO of General Motors, Mary Barra; former Durham, Mayor William Bell; Phil Freelon, lead architect for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Dr. William Kaelin, professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School; and Attorney Russell M. Robinson II.
Credit: stargist.com
As part of the year long series, As Equals, by CNN, women from lesser developed countries are sharing their own stories of gender inequality, sexual assault and harassment. Even though the #MeToo and TimesUp movements started in the US, countless women from all over the world can relate to the distressing stories being shared.
Three brave women: Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, Brenda Uphopho and Eurel Nwafor (Photo: CNN)
2017 was a pivotal year for Nigerian women and women’s rights movements revealed some disturbing details of the commonness of sexual harassment and assault of which thousands of men and women around the world partook in.
CNN is now also giving Nigerian women a louder voice, allowing them to share their #MeToo stories. Watch these strong Nigerian women – Brenda Uphopho, Eurel Nwafor, Chichi Ogbonnaya, Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi and Omodasola Omibeku – share their survival stories below:
1. Brenda Uphopho
Brenda, a festival producer from Lagos is one of the five women who shared their sexual abuse stories with CNN.
According to her, she was assaulted three times by three different men but she never found the nerve to tell anyone until it was dawn on her that her teenage daughter was fast growing up in the same world that soiled her purity.
Watch Video of her talk below
2. Eurel Nwafor
The 22-year-old said she was raped in August 2017 after some opposition union members stormed her former place of work.
She was working as a personal assistant at a market in Lagos at the time of the incident. We have her video below
3. Chichi Ogbonnaya
Chichi, another victim, was defiled at 10 years old by an ‘uncle’. Ogbonnaya was sent to live with the man by her mother, who could not afford to take care of her.
4. Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi
In 2010, young Seun now 27, was working as a volunteer in a local election when she was asked to register underage voters. Her refusal to carry out the illegal request landed her in trouble.
She said one of the candidates in the election tried to make her juicy offers just to make her budge which led to the unfortunate situation.
5. Omodasola Omibeku
At age 6 years old, another victim, Omodasola was first abused by a distant relative.
The man lived with them in her family house, which she said was full of “aunties and uncles, some not even blood relatives.” We have her video below.
Credit; CNN, konbini.com, fabwoman.ng
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, March 7 received the country’s bobsled and skeleton athletes who competed at the just concluded 2018 Winter Olympics.
Bobsled and skeleton athletes Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, Akuoma Omeoga and Simidele Adeagbo made history as the first Nigerian representatives at the Winter Olympics.
Seun-led bobsled Nigeria’s women’s team started the winter sports themselves from scratch without the help of government before Simidele joined in as a skeleton athlete.
After their historic participation at the Winter Olympics, Suen and Simidele were received on behalf of their teammates by Buhari at the State House on Wednesday.
Buhari gave them the Presidential Handshake and commended them for their selfless quest to make history for Nigeria.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was also present to meet the women.
“Words cannot express the joy and honour I feel after being received by the Honorable President Muhammadu Buhari of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria,” Seun said after the ceremony.
The women had been hosted earlier by Sports Minister Solomon Dalung.
“Thank you Honorable Sports Minister Solomon Dalung for additionally having a personal reception for our BSFN athlete representatives. Abuja, you have been wonderful. Nigeria, greatness and positivity shall continue to lift you higher. Amen,” Seun added.
Although the Nigerian women finished the Olympics without a medal, they won accolades for their historic outings for Nigeria.
Simidele was the first to get on the ice in Pyeongchang but could not finish in any medals’ place after four Heat races.
Nigeria’s women bobsled athletes also raced in four Heats but failed to finish in medals’ places.
They also all achieved personal bests at the Olympics; the bobsled team reached a personal best of 52.21s while Simidele raced a personal best of 52.21 seconds in Skeleton.