Nigerian writer, artist and broadcaster, Wana Udobang has been selected to participate in the 54th International Writing Programme (IWP) Fall Residency at the University of Iowa, courtesy of the United States Department of State.
The 11-week course will have Wana alongside 29 other writers from across the globe in the world’s oldest and largest multinational writing residency. The participants will give readings and lectures that share their work and cultures collaborate with artists from other genres and art forms, and travel to interact with audiences and literary communities across The United States.
In addition, the residency will provide the writers with a one-of-a-kind inter-cultural opportunity to forge productive relationships with colleagues and translators, and take part in the vibrant social and academic life of the University of Iowa as well as the larger American literary scene.
Sharing her joy at the development on Twitter, Wana said: “Your girl is going to be an international writing programme resident in IOWA in the spring next year. Still pinching myself. Hugging face❤”
United States Consul General Claire Pierangelo congratulated the Nigerian writer on her acceptance into the residency program. According to her, the goal of the IWP Fall Residency is to provide outstanding writers with a platform for cultural exchange and collaboration.
“This is an extremely competitive program and we are proud to have you represent Nigeria,” she said.
“Your accomplishments as a poet and writer are well-known and we hope this is an opportunity for you to take time to focus on your writing, connect with well-established writers from around the globe, learn more about the United States, and contribute to literature courses both at The University of Iowa and across the country.”
Wana Udobang popularly known as Wana Wana was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
She graduated with a first-class degree in Journalism.
She worked as a radio presenter and producer at 92.3 Inspiration FM in Lagos, Nigeria for over six years and hosted the television show “Airtel Touching Lives”. She is the producer of the documentary “Sensitive Skin” a documentary film about the skin condition, Psoriasis.
She is a public speaker in the areas of gender advocacy, youth mentorship and is a well sought after moderator in the creative and cultural space.
Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, my mother’s hair salon housed many vivid memories. I recall how my eyes would tear up from the sting of menthol as I greased scalps. I remember my arms cramping from prepping hair extensions, or worse, undoing micro braids. (This was the 1990s. These days, we are more into Peruvian weaves, wigs, and crochet braids.)
I also remember eavesdropping on women swapping recommendations for skin lightening products. Some women gave directions to beauticians who were known for mixing special creams. Others would exchange homemade concoctions, like how combining certain products with moisturizer could mitigate the harshness of the chemicals, or how a certain egg-based shampoo made for effective lightening results. Sometimes code words like skin toning, brightening, or glowing would be used in place of the pejorative “bleaching.”
Thinking back, the question “what are you using?” was a common refrain in my youth.
Personally, I didn’t feel like I needed to be lighter, but I certainly didn’t want to get darker. Like so many Nigerian girls and women, I found myself avoiding the sun as much as I could, a habit that continued into my early adulthood. My older sister is very light skinned, and growing up, it was palpable how both men and women fawned over her. Somewhere in the depths of my subconscious, I too had equated lighter skin tone with beauty.
As I entered my early 20s, I began to interrogate beauty standards and those ideals started to lose their power. But still, despite all the work I’ve done to accept my natural color, when I walk into a salon to get my eyebrows waxed, someone inevitably recommends a product to, as they put it, “heighten my glow.”
Today, the global skin lightening industry is estimated to be in the multibillion dollar range. In Africa, Nigeria is the largest consumer of skin lightening products. While there is no substantial data on the use of skin lightening products around the world, a World Health Organization report claims that 77 percent of Nigerian women use them on a regular basis. Countries like Togo, South Africa, and Senegal are not lagging too far behind.
Skin lightening, however, is not limited to Africa. In 2017, according to Future Market Insights, Asia-Pacific made up more than half of the global market for skin lightening products, with China accounting for about 40 percent of sales, Japan 21 percent, and Korea 18 percent.
In Africa, there is no documented history of when skin lightening took off, but Yaba Blay, who teaches black body politics and gender politics at North Carolina Central University, believes that it began as African countries gained their independence.
In a 2018 interview with the online publication Byrdie, Blay says that white women have historically used their whiteness as a way to communicate purity. This belief was exported to Africa, and around the time of independence, skin lightening began “exploding.”
Television host and actress Folu Ogunkeye has experienced her share of rejection when auditioning for film and television roles as a dark-skinned woman. “What I have found in Nigeria is that leading roles are not readily available for dark-skinned actresses,” she explains. “Initially I had simply assumed that I wasn’t suited for the particular role for which I had auditioned, but then each time, the role was given to a lighter-skinned contemporary. After discussions behind the scenes with industry experts, it has been said outright that certain leading roles are simply not given to darker-skinned actresses because executives do not believe that audiences [want to] see darker women in romantic or leading lady roles.”
One of the seemingly oxymoronic aspects of skin lightening in Nigeria is the sense of shame and denial attached to using these products, particularly among elite women.
A few African countries, like Kenya and Ghana, have attempted a crackdown on the importation and sale of certain skin lightening products, especially those containing chemicals like hydroquinone and mercury. More recently, Rwanda enforced a nationwide ban on skin bleaching products, leading to authorities removing creams and soaps from shelves across the country.
Colorism is a complexand loaded notion that requires re-examining our cultural norms of beauty. This sort of long-term educational approach will take a lot of time and effort. But I think there is hope.
Just in the same way that the natural hair movement caused a decline in the sale of chemical hair relaxers, forcing beauty companies to create products for natural hair, or how black YouTubers forced the makeup industry to rethink its products and marketing, the same can happen to the skin lightening industry.
With education and awareness campaigns and a deliberate move to broaden the spectrum of the skin tones that we see on our television screens and billboards, the needle on colorism will eventually shift. However, while we wait for that change to happen, we need strict regulations to ensure the safety of skin products being sold in stores across the continent.
Now in my 30s, I am surprisingly asked about my skin regimen despite sporting a heavy tan from taking on swimming as a new hobby. I think this is because Nigerian’s perception of what it considered beautiful skin is becoming more expansive, and there is an increased awareness that beauty isn’t monolithic.
Recent shifts in how we see beauty such as the body positivity and natural hair movements as well as dark-skinned, Oscar-winning Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o becoming ambassador for French luxury cosmetics house Lancôme, are contributing to our gradual redefining of beauty. My hope is that one day in the near future, no woman in Nigeria will feel she has to lighten her skin to feel beautiful or improve her odds of success in life.
In a country where mental health is seen as taboo and stigma thrives in a culture of silence, one woman set out to change this exactly three years ago.
Award-winning founder, Hauwa Ojeifo who was at that time recently diagnosed with bipolar and posttraumatic stress disorder, and had a near suicide attempt barely 2 months before, set out to change the face of mental health in Nigeria by boldly speaking her truth publicly. She founded She Writes Woman on April 17, 2016.
For three years, She Writes Woman’s mission has been to lead a movement of love, hope and support that gives mental health a voice in Nigeria. She Writes Woman pursues this mission by taking back the misinformed narrative around mental health by telling new stories, connecting help with hope and normalizing mental health conversations by providing safe places where people can talk without fear or shame. Utilising education and awareness, advocacy and policy influence coupled with innovative and sustainable solutions, She Writes Woman’s mission is simple – to create better lives for Nigerians by improving the way they think, feel and behave.
Over the past 3 years, She Writes Woman has initiated a 24/7 mental health helpline averting over 50 likely suicides and counting, and sustained the only women-only mental health support group with over 39 editions directly supporting over 600 women and girls across 4 states in Nigeria. The leading mental health movement in Nigeria has also reached over 500,000 people globally with information and knowledge that will change their attitude and behaviour towards mental health, and recently created Safe Place Nigeria; a first-ever preventative mental health life clinic for young people to address life issues such as stress, relationships, fulfillment etc early enough before they become mental health problems, proudly donated by Airtel Nigeria as part of its Airtel Touching Lives CSR Initiative.
It is no wonder that amongst the organisations’ many accolades and recognitions include Ojeifo’s prestigious award from Her Majesty the Queen of England at the Buckingham Palace in June 2018, being the only African to be nominated (and won) the MTV Europe Music Generation Change Award in Bilbao, Spain and bagging the AstraZeneca Young Health Scholarship in becoming a One Young World Ambassador to the Hague, Netherlands.
In marking her three-year milestone, She Writes Woman unveils her Mental Health Ambassadors – a group of nine diverse women who are leaders in their industries and are passionate about mental health. Among these women are Esther Ijewere (Women of Rubies), Gusi Tobby Lordwilliams (Girl Hub Africa), Glory Edozien (Inspired by Glory, 9to5 chick), Olive Emodi (Award-winning OAP), Fatima Zahra Umar (Jaruma Magazine, Divorce Diaries), Adenike Oyetunde (Amputees United Initiative), Laila Johnson-Salami (Multimedia Journalist), Wana Udobang (Award-winning Journalist), Zahra Zakariya Abdulkareem (The Umm Fariha Network).
“I am so excited to become a part of the inaugural SWW Mental Health Ambassadors. Being able to give a voice to mental health is so important to me as someone that has been clinically diagnosed”, said Laila Johnson-Salami. Speaking on why this is an important position for her, the Jaruma Magazine Chief Editor stated, “I am a survivor of depression…Being that we live in a country that is only just beginning to come to terms with the importance of mental health, I look forward to being part of educating our people on the importance of sound mental health. Lordwilliams also added, “I look forward to representing all that She Writes Woman stands for, getting more people to be aware of its mission, uphold her core values and increasing our reach this year and beyond”.
In the coming year, these mental health ambassadors will use their personal and professional network to raise awareness on mental health and collaboratively work together in creating better lives for Nigerians, says Ojeifo
