GENDER IDENTITY THROUGH THE NIGERIAN QUEER LENS
To document experiences of genderqueer Nigerians, I spoke to four of them and asked what it means to identify differently from the conventional gender binary.
OPENING
to become a trench,
how far does a hole go.
how much of myself do I empty
till I am hollow, pit enough to swallow you.
or a pathway to the end of myself.
(other words for a hole are cavity,
depression, retreat, shelter, well.)
the last time I was at the entrance of a thing,
I turned away before I could enter:
apologies for my retreat,
every doorway resembles a cavity of depression.
I hope you are well,
have you found another shelter.
DIGITAL RIGHTS IN NIGERIA
Not only is freedom of speech at risk of cessation, the ban is thinning the income of entrepreneurs, tech companies, start-ups, and influencers who rely on Twitter as a link to their customers and audience.
Calculations on the NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST) show that Nigeria loses N2.17 billion daily to Twitter shutdown.
DIGITAL ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND ONLINE HARASSMENT
Online harassment includes any form of virtual interaction, action, or reaction that makes a person feel unsafe or discriminated against (Nimisire, 2021).
6 Nigerians Talk About Their Routine STI/STD Testing
If you ever get tested and your results are positive for any STI, don’t feel dirty or ashamed. You can get treated and everything will be fine. Being ashamed about having an STI is a form of purity culture that you have to unlearn.
Music from Broken Pipes
For those who lost their lives and peace to the #ENDSARS protests in Nigeria.
Don’t ask me how I am
if you aren’t ready to hear
the history of how a government
went to war against his people
crushing them as they merged into
a shield wall for sanity to walk
back into the land unharmed
In October 2020, Nigerians invented
a language to bargain with time
that they might make it to the market
before their politicians
razed the last store of hope
to the ground and cried wolf
ask a politician the cost of his conscience
and watch a fountain of blood erupt from his mouth
I come from a generation of people
who make the bullet rethink
its allegiance to the gun
those who look death in the eye
and dare it to kill what already is dead
people who scream louder
as the government’s grip
on their throats tightens
Plot Twist: We grew up making
music from broken pipes
songs that draw guards of hades
out into the open to dance
in an arena of our choosing
with men of our choosing
for battles of our choosing
so help you war, we deem
you worthy to be chosen.
IMPORTANCE OF COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
Young people need more than the conventional sex education focused on abstinence and contraception, hence the importance of CSE. CSE is a more effective substitute that provides young people with age-appropriate and scientifically accurate information on a broad range of issues relating to all aspects of sexuality including puberty, reproduction, abstinence, contraception, relationships, sexual violence prevention, body image, gender identity and sexual orientation.
WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER AN ABORTION
Adequate self-care is essential after having an abortion, in order for you to recover and resume your normal activities. Because bodies differ, recuperation after abortion is varied for every individual.
Here are helpful tips that can aid and speed up your healing.
How Contraception Makes Life Easier
Contraception, also known as birth control, are methods designed to prevent unwanted pregnancy. There are different types of contraception, they include the Intrauterine Device (IUD), Injectables, Oral Contraceptives, Hormonal Vaginal Contraceptive Ring, Patch, Diaphragm or Cervical Cap, Spermicides, Male and Female Condoms, etc.
These array of options are available for you to choose from depending on your convenience. To have a better knowledge of how these methods work, read about them on Findmymethod.org; this will help you make an informed choice.
You ought to put certain factors into consideration before finally settling for one of these methods. This includes their effectiveness, availability, affordability; your health, number of sexual partners, desire to procreate; and how often you engage in sexual activity.
You ought to put certain factors into consideration before finally settling for one of these methods. This includes their effectiveness, availability, affordability; your health, number of sexual partners, desire to procreate; and how often you engage in sexual activity.
Despite the evidence that contraception reduces the rate of unintended pregnancies and prevents unsafe abortions worldwide, data on contraception use by World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 270 million women of reproductive age in the world have an unmet need for contraception. This is due to different factors ranging from inaccessibility and sociocultural barriers to personal reasons.
If you are wondering what the whole fuss about contraception is, and why its use is important, here are some of the good we have contraception to thank for doing in the world.
BENEFITS OF CONTRACEPTION
Reduced Risk of Unintended Pregnancy: So, you are not ready to go through the hassle of pregnancy or parenting, but want to enjoy your sexual liberty to its ends? Getting on a suitable contraception is the wise thing to do. When used the right way, most contraceptives are 90–99% effective in preventing pregnancy.
Additionally, using contraception to prevent having an unintended pregnancy means you may not have to get an abortion. This can be quite relieving, especially if you live in a State with restrictive abortion laws that put you at risk of an unsafe abortion.
Getting pregnant may be inevitable if you keep having unprotected sex, so think about all the stress and unexpected cost of childcare contraception use can save you from.
Population Control: The United Nations estimates that the world population is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100. This may just be too much than the earth can support. Prevention of overpopulation helps solve social and economic problems because it reduces pressure on the environment and available resources. Contraception use is key to curbing population explosion.
Better Sex: Imagine all the sex you can have and the extent to which you can explore the nook and cranny of your body for pleasure without fear of pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Exciting, right? Contraceptives are here to make that happen.
Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infection/ Disease (STI/STD): Having unprotected sex puts you at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and diseases. Guard yourself from this by using the barrier forms of contraception, i.e condoms, while having penetrative sex, and dental dams for oral sex. All other forms of contraception besides these two can only prevent pregnancy, not STI/STD.
Prevention of Pregnancy Complications, Maternal and Infant Deaths: Marie Stopes International reports that approximately 830 women die daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. As well, 12 million girls marry before the age of 18 every year and are turned into teenage mothers, this results in pregnancy complications such as anemia, low birth weight, preeclampsia/eclampsia, preterm labor, and stillbirth.
The use of contraception by such teenagers can forestall having to carry pregnancies they and their reproductive systems are not ready for, and ultimately reduce complications and mortality.
Planned Pregnancy and Child Spacing: The use of contraception aids women in proper planning for pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood — mentally, medically, and financially. This helps in providing adequate care for the baby before and after birth. Such a child has a great chance of being healthy and raised in a homely environment. Contraception also helps with child spacing, which leaves a decent gap between the children a person has, and prevents the burden of having to care for more than one infant at once.
Economic Empowerment: Having control over one’s fertility and exercising reproductive rights is empowering. Unintended pregnancy and unspaced childbirth have socioeconomic consequences that majorly affect women and girls all around the world.
Many women and girls are stuck in the cycle of poverty and unable to attain career growth due to unplanned pregnancy and the stress of parenting.
Thousands of teenage girls around the world drop out of school and are unable to continue their formal education, which reduces their chances of accessing opportunities available to their peers. Contraception empowers women and girls and keeps them from unplanned pregnancy, which may limit them from attaining their potential.
For more information on the use of contraception, send an email to info@findmymethod.org, or visit Findmymethod.org.
SOURCES
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/index.htm
https://www.familyplanning.org.nz/news/2014/how-effective-is-your-contraception
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/how-effective-contraception/
https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017.html
Unsafe Abortion: Consequences, Facts & Statistics
Outliving the Pandemic Through Creativity
On July 16, I taught an online webinar on Creativity and how instrumental it can be in surviving this pandemic.
Click here to read the article on my Medium account and don’t forget to follow me.
NIMISIRE 
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