External links
- Miss saHHara's Official Website Archived 8 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- Tranvalid Organisation
Miss saHHara | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 August |
| Occupation(s) | Singer/songwriter, fashion model, beauty queen, Founder of Transvalid organisation, President of Miss Trans Global |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Title |
|
| Website | misssahhara |
Miss Sahhara (stylized as Miss saHHara) [a] [2] is a British Nigerian beauty queen and an LGBTQ rights activist. [3] [4]
She is the first ever winner of Super Sireyna Worldwide 2014 in Manila, Philippines. She became the first black transgender woman to be crowned in an international transgender pageant. [5] [6] With her 2011 participation in Miss International Queen, a beauty pageant in Pattaya for transgender women, Miss Sahhara became the first trans woman from Nigeria to come out in the international press. [7] [8] She subsequently founded a global transgender awareness news curation organisation called TransValid, and an advocacy pageant for transgender women called Miss Trans Global. [9] [10]
Miss Sahhara grew up in a small village in northern Nigeria. [11] Her grandmother, who raised her while her mother was away at university, supported her in expressing her gender identity, but her neighbors and other family members were less supportive. As a teenager who wanted to wear makeup, dresses, and high heels, she was bullied at home and in public for her gender expression, suffering physical and sexual assault, harassment, and death threats. Her uncles beat her, and her church told her she was possessed by evil spirits. [9] [12] [13] [14]
After two suicide attempts as a teenager, and being imprisoned for her gender presentation in January 2004, Miss Sahhara resolved to either leave Nigeria or succeed in committing suicide. Later in 2004, she emigrated to London, where she was able to meet other transgender women, access gender-affirming care, and live openly as a woman. [12] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Miss Sahhara completed her undergraduate degree at Benue State University, Nigeria. [18] She graduated with a Master's degree in digital media from London Metropolitan University in 2011. [19]
In 2022, she disclosed that she underwent surgery to correct mistakes made during her early transition ten years prior, and she advised transgender women to take their time before transitioning. [20] In a 2016 interview with NostringsNG, she said she has always been a woman and that it is not just a lifestyle. She added that moving to the United Kingdom changed everything and affirmed who she has always been. [21]
Miss Sahhara has participated in a number of pageants in the UK and abroad, representing her birth country of Nigeria to draw attention to the plight of the African LGBT community. [22] [23] She is also the founder and executive producer of transgender advocacy pageants Queen of Nations and Miss Trans Global. [24]
| Title | Year | Placement | Country | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Sireyna Worldwide | 2014 | Winner | Philippines | [25] [26] [27] |
| Miss International Queen | 2011 | 1st Runner-up | Thailand | [28] [29] [30] |
| Andrew Logan's Alternative Miss World | 2009 | 1st Runner-up | United Kingdom | [31] |
Miss Sahhara has appeared on the covers of transgender magazines Mask and TransLiving, [32] [33] and modeled for Ziad Ghanem on the London Fashion Week catwalk, [34] [35] [36] [37] [ original research? ] as well as performing at Madam Jojo's Kitsch Cabaret in Soho before its 2014 closure. [38] [39] [40]
Miss Sahhara has been a vocal critic of the 2014 Nigerian Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which imposes prison terms of up to 14 years on LGBT Nigerians. [41] [42]
In 2014, Miss Sahhara founded TransValid, a global awareness organization for the transgender community. [43] Her activities with TransValid have included a 2015 short film, The Deadly Price of Transphobia in Brazil , [44] and a 2016 campaign titled 'I am Trans and I have the Right to Life' . [45] [46] [47]
Miss Sahhara has discussed transgender rights on Sky Living's "Lady Boys", [48] Eat Bulaga!'s "Super Sireyna Worldwide", [25] BBC's "In Her Shoes: #BBCIdentity", [2] and a Tunay Na Buhay interview with Rhea Santos. [49]
