Pamela Adie

Pamela Adie is a Nigerian LGBT rights activist, public speaker, screenwriter and filmmaker. Pamela is hailed as a prominent public speaker advocating LGBTQ community and has often raised her voice on empowering LGBTQ community in Nigeria.[1] Her research and works about LGBT rights in Nigeria have featured in several LGBT anthology series. She rose to prominence with her directorial debut Under the Rainbow which reflects her personal memoir.[2] Her production venture Ìfé is deemed as Nigeria's first lesbian film. She is the executive director of non governmental organisation Equality Hub.[3]

Pamela Adie
Born
Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Alma materWebster University
University of Wisconsin
University of Baltimore
Occupationactivist, public speaker and filmmaker
Known forUnder the Rainbow, Ìfé

Biography

Although she was married to a man, she revealed that she is an openly lesbian in an announcement made in 2011 after discussing with her family members.[4] She hails from Calabar, Cross River State.[5]

Career

Pamela pursued her MBA degree at the Webster University and completed her Masters degree from the University of Baltimore. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Superior.[1] She pursued her career as a LGBT rights advocate and officially became Nigeria's first lesbian activist. She also attended the World Economic Forum in 2017 and spoke in the inaugural edition of the "Meet Leading LGBT Rights Activists". In the forum, she also addressed the importance of including LGBT people in the workplace.[6]

She written, directed and produced Nigeria’s first lesbian-focused documentary film titled Under the Rainbow (2019) which largely focuses on her personal life.[7][8] In 2019, she was nominated and shortlisted among ten nominees for the inaugural edition of the Mary Chirwa Award which was initiated in 2018.[9] She was conferred the thine nomination in recognition of her courageous leadership.

Ìfé
Main article: Ìfé

She announced her intention on making a feature film on lesbian community in Nigeria and executively produced the film Ìfé. The production of the film became controversial due to the government ban on lesbian related work. The project was initiated jointly by Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim and Pamela Adie in collaboration with the Equality Hub.[10] The film is regarded as Nigeria's first ever lesbian feature film and concerns on censorship also emerged due to the film genre.[11][12] However the film released is delayed due to censorship issues and Pamila Adie along with film director were threatened by the authorities for possible imprisonment after allegations emerged regarding the attempt by the filmmakers on releasing the film internationally.[13]

References
  1. "Pamela Adie – Chief Servant/Executive Director – The Equality Hub". Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  2. "Nigeria's first lesbian documentary". africasacountry.com. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  3. "The Equality Hub – …a network for equality". Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  4. Admin. "Cross River Born Lesbian Sets Wedding Date With Partner (See Photos)". Paradise News. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  5. "Nigerian lesbian, Pamela Adie, tells her story in new documentary". NoStringsNG – Voice of LGBTQ+ Nigeria. 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  6. "Pamela Adie". Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  7. "Pamela Adie's Under the Rainbow Is Nigeria's First Documentary About Being Lesbian | Watch Teaser". Brittle Paper. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  8. "Nigeria's first lesbian documentary film is finally here – Rights Africa – Equal Rights, One Voice!". Rightsafrica.com. 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  9. Times, The Rustin (2019-10-14). "Nigerian activist Pamela Adie is nominated for the first Mary Chirwa Award for Courageous Leadership". The Rustin Times. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  10. Ike, Joanne (2020-08-24). "Nigeria's first lesbian movie, Ìfé, is set to change stereotypes » YNaija". YNaija. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  11. "'Ife', Nigeria's first lesbian movie, goes online to beat NFVCB". TheCable Lifestyle. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  12. Salaudeen, Aisha. "Nollywood film about two women in love tackles homophobia". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  13. "The Nigerian filmmakers risking jail with lesbian movie Ife". BBC News. 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
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