Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva has revealed to great shock that she was an adopted child of the Silva Family.

According to the screen goddess, she was adopted decades ago from a foster home run by the Red Cross in Lagos.

This information came to light at the recent Annual Conference of Heritage Adoption Support and Advocacy Group (HASAAG) in Lagos when the  Joke Silva shocked many when she revealed that she was not a natural child of late lawyer, Chief E.A Silva who was the then Babajiro of Lagos and his late wife, Dr Abimbola Silva, reputed to be Nigeria’s first female medical doctor. .

Speaking at the event, the actress revealed that her family also kept the fact that she was adopted a secret from her, until she accidentally discovered that fact.

Here are some excerpts from what she said:

On fond memories she has of her parents

Everybody would be calling me whenever my adopted mum (Dr. Silva) came with cakes and a lot of things during her visit. I went to YWCA Nursery, which was not too far from the Silva’s home in Yaba. I also have memories of moving in with them when they moved to Glover Road in Ikoyi.

I remember reading newspapers to my Dad in our sitting room and pronouncing Brig-General Aguyi Ironsi, the then Nigeria Head Of State, Agolo Iresi! My father could not stop laughing at my hilarious interpretation of the newspaper.

On making her parents proud

Also I remember making them proud, when performing at St. Saviour School. My parents would be standing and were congratulated by other parent too for my acting skills. My parents were so excited that this child was incredibly talented.

I have memories of going to Holy Child College Lagos because my parents insisted on me going to Holy Child because that is where Julie Coker, Pearce Olusola and Ibidun Allison went and they believed with all my performing talent skills, that is the kind of school I should go to too.

On hearing that she was not a biological child of the Silva’s

I remembered going out with my cousin and we met a big cousin She introduced me as ‘my cousin’s daughter and this is Dr Silva’s daughter.’ Then, the older cousin was like, ‘Dr. Silva ke? Se Doctor Silva bimo ni? (meaning does Dr. Silva have a child?) . Did Dr Silva ever have a child?’

I was so confused and when I got home I told my mum, ‘I met this lady that says you never had a child.’ My mum froze and she said, ‘don’t mind them, they are used to rubbish talk.’

How she found out she was adopted

But I got to know years later when I wanted to travel and was looking for my passport where my mum kept it. Since she was not around, I opened the box in her absence and I saw my adoption papers. I never discussed it with my mum because I felt it was something that would hurt her, that was why, it was kept secret from me.

On them leaving a good will

Even in their wills, I was well protected. My Daddy being a lawyer said in his will that all his children, both adopted and biological, should be treated equally. I was not stressed in anyway. We were all well taken care of till my mum died at the age of 89. At 56, I still miss her but I know she has definitely gone back to her father.

Last moments with her mother

On her sick bed I always sang her favourite tunes, she would be imputing the melodious tunes and she died singing to her Lord. She had prepared her family before my coming into her life because I had an incredible big Silva family.

On her role in her family

I have a very big family I am the first daughter, I carried the responsibility of a first daughter. Everybody in my family cannot take any decision until sister Joke has come. I can’t call my parents adopted parents. They are my parents.”

Culled from fabwoman.ng

Even though Today’s Woman (how ironic) declared that it was impossible, La Femme Foundation is presenting The Slut Walk Lagos with the aim of bringing attention to rape culture, providing a safe space to educate, and empowering women.

It’s 2017 and women are not standing for any oppression or misogyny anymore and rightfully so!

Due to the stigma surrounding domestic and sexual violence in Nigeria, there is a very rigid culture of silence on the matter, which makes it difficult to collate and establish exact statistics and also sort of encourages perpetuators. There is also not a lot of research on this significant public health issue, arguably due to fear and resistance from the victim which is mainly because of victim blaming.

The Slut Walk (Strong Ladies United Lagos) aims to fight the epidemic of violence against women by creating a discourse amongst the youth to take a provocative stance. Through this protest, they aim to encourage those who have been affected or relate to the cause to speak up and enlighten others. The current climate within our culture is enabling, and until we unlearn the problematic stance, violence and misogyny will persist.

The Slut Walk will be held on December 17, from 9am with the meeting point at the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge roundabout. If you’re interested, make sure to attend in black clothes with a gele tied to show solidarity. Join them in creating a new era of humanism in our very own country – it is literally our duty to society!

See you then!

culled from konbini.com

Media personality and entrepreneur, Toke Makinwa, who recently launched her bag collection, has organised the #OnBecomingEmpowered grant which was a move to help young entrepreneurs get financial support.

The event held yesterday the 3rd of December and it was one to remember. Veterans in the media and entertainment world such as Stephanie Coker,  Bolanle Olukanni, Toyin Abraham, Tallulah Doherty were panelists of the grant competition and they did a pretty good job.

See her Instagram post below

BBNaija’s 2017 ex-housemate, Uriel, took to Instagram to pen down an emotional post to her mum, who is suffering from Dementia.

According to her, even though her mum’s disease wants to take her away, she’s got enough memories of her to last a life time.

She wrote;

 “Even though your sick and you most times you are confused and scared you always support me,You follow me to work interviews and shoots.

Even though you sometimes forget how to walk, I will always be your legs I will take you any where you want to go.. push you on your wheel chair fast or slow.
Even though you can’t remember how to cook, mummy no need I learnt from the best I’m all you need that’s the truth.
Even though you can’t dress or wash your self,mummy pls don’t worry every day is your spa day.. plus I love being your stylist.
Even though you forget how to pray Your Amen is enough you raised a prayerful daughter.
I love you sooooo much
Even though Dementia wants to take you from me.. just know I have memories to last a life time.
Happy sunday yaaay . Feeling blessed
IN ALL GIVE Thanks
My inspiration. Mrs Blessing Jerry Oputa” she wrote.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs has revealed that the office of Foreign Affairs issued warnings to Nigerians not to go to Libya.

This is following the global outrage over a CNN report that exposed an underground slave market where young Africans are sold.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels TV program, the presidential aide also wondered why Nigerians take a lot of risk to go abroad for greener pastures.

Dabiri-Erewa said;

“NEMA, my office, IOM told Nigerians that avoid Libya, it is deadly, it is dangerous, don’t go there. Also on the news, you have cases of Nigerians being brought back from Libya on a regular basis. So Nigeria has been bringing back its citizens from Libya.

“You can imagine the dangerous journey. Walking about 3,000kilometers that’s flying for about three hours if you are going to Europe. This might be attributed to poverty. Yes, the government must do the needful by creating enabling environment and jobs but it goes beyond that. What do you say of a mother who sells her land and pays off $4,000 for her daughter to go to Europe?”

“We should look at the family value and the systems. For every person who goes on that journey, a trafficker is being empowered, a trafficker is getting richer,” she added.

According to AFP, survivors of slave auctions in Libya have described as hell their experience in Libya’s underground slave camp.

Moussa Sanogo, a migrant who flew back to Ivory Coast after spending four months in Libya, revealed that they were beaten regularly, and forced to work in the fields.

“For the Arabs (Libyan jailers), black-skinned men are nothing but animals — animals were treated better,” Sanogo said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate on Wednesday, November 29, 2017, called on the Federal Government to summon Libyan Ambassador to answer questions concerning reports of slave trade.

source: pulsenews

Hollywood actress and award-winning singer, Selena Gomez is the cover star of Billboard Magazine’s ‘Woman Of The Year’ issue 2017.

In her interview, she gave some insight into her recent surgery where she had a Kidney transplant as a result of complications from Lupus. Selena shared how she had to get comfortable with her scars.

Despite her struggle with accepting her body, she revealed that now she looks at her body and feels better about everything she has been through.

Read excerpts from her interview below

On how comfortable she feels with her scar:

I do. I didn’t, but I do now. It was really hard in the beginning. I remember looking at myself in the mirror completely naked and thinking about all the things that I used to bitch about and just asking, “Why?” I had someone in my life for a very long time who pointed out all the things that I didn’t feel great about with myself. When I look at my body now, I just see life. There are a million things I can do — lasers and creams and all that stuff — but I’m OK with it. And by the way, there’s nothing wrong with [plastic surgery]. Cardi B has been my inspiration lately. She’s killing it, and she is proud of everything she has done. So there is absolutely zero judgment on my end. I just think for me, it could be my eyes, my round face, my ears, my legs, my scar. I don’t have perfect abs, but I feel like I’m wonderfully made.

On how she feels about the recent increase in women speaking up against their predators:

I feel all those things. I’ve cried. But I definitely feel hopeful. As people speak out, I hope that feels powerful to them, because they deserve to feel that. I’m fortunate enough not to have experienced some of the traumatic things that other women have had to go through. I’ve known people in my family who’ve gone through those things. I try to let people come to me and open up, to make a safe environment for them to do so.

On whether or not she is working on new music:

culled from fabwoman.ng

On Tuesday, October 28 2017, Jenny Durkan officially became Seattle’s 56th mayor and the first woman to hold the office in almost a hundred years.

The Emerald City welcomed Durkan, who is also its first openly lesbian mayor, with inauguration ceremonies held in five locations spread across Seattle. Durkan made her first stop at Seattle’s Ethiopian Community Center where she was officially sworn in to office by Judge Richard Jones.

Bertha Knight Landes, the last female to hold the mayoral seat in Seattle more than 90 years ago, served on Seattle’s City Council and was then elected as mayor in 1926.

Source: LIB

In recent years, many people have shifted from traditional careers to remote work and coworking spaces began springing up in cities around the world. However, many of these spaces have predominantly catered to men, home to ping pong tables and a bro culture, where women have felt socially isolated, been subjected to sexual harassment or otherwise experienced the impact of workplace sexism.

In response to this, Girly.ng, a female, millennial lifestyle brand, has launched a women-only coworking space with a mission to enable women of different backgrounds and professions to come together for mutual support, relationship-building, and wellness.

(Photo: Girly.ng)

Girly.ng comprises of an e-commerce marketplace for social media thrift sellers, an online community connecting women and now the first all-girl co-working space in Nigeria.

Girly.ng is trying to position itself as the affordable coworking space where entrepreneurial women can create and collaborate in a professional environment suited to meeting the unique needs of female entrepreneurs – by connecting them to other business experts, access to educational workshops, mentorship and visibility within the business community.

The space, located in Yaba, Lagos, is yet to go live with their rates, but signing up early with the community will get entrepreneurs on the waiting list to enjoy a 20% discount on offered services. The workspace will be fully open to the general (female) public in January.

When women create and design spaces for themselves, they are able to address the barriers and challenges that have hindered their progress in traditional office environments.

Culled from konbini.com

Featured image credit: shutterstock