Nigeria’s pageant industry has long celebrated conventional ideals of beauty. But here at the Albinism Advocacy Pageant in Lagos, the message is diversity and the goal to break the stigma surrounding albinism.
Albinism is a genetic condition that affects the skin, hair, and eyes and is highly misunderstood across Nigeria.
Cultural myths and superstitions fuel prejudice, with some people excluded from schools, jobs, and social gatherings and even subjected to violence.
The pageant’s newly crowned queen, Anita Chidiebube-Dike, says she will use her role to push for greater public understanding of albinism.
“My first priority is to create an engaging content that will bring the strength and show the strength and positive impact of persons with albinism in our society.”
Advocacy for albinism is long overdue, says Tolani Ojuri, Chairperson of the Albinism Association of Nigeria:
“Persons with albinism have various challenges. I mean, from the sun to the low vision, and lots of persons with albinism don’t even know how to go about this. And even to the general society, the myth, the bullying, the stereotyping, and all that.”
Pageant organisers say the hope events like Saturday’s pageant can help change the conversation:
“When people think of pageantry, they think of people who look a certain way,” says organiser Mistura Abisola Owolabi. “But for us, we are flipping the script and using pageantry to showcase the talent of people with albinism and also advocate for them”
The World Health Organization estimates that the number of people with albinism varies from one in 5,000 to one in 15,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa.
In Nigeria, about 2 million people have albinism and the government has vowed to help combat the the discrimination they face. But change can be slow in coming.
The crowning of an albinism advocacy queen may just signal a shift toward broader representation.
