Nigeria’s First Transgender Man Takes Part In Beauty Pageant As a Woman

Miss International Queen pageant which began in 2004 can be described as the world's most watched transgender contest held yearly in Thailand. One of the 2011 contestant, Miss Saharra, a 26year old UK based Nigerian who relocated to the UK 7years ago and in that time she attained two university degrees. When asked why she chose to represent her birth country, she explained ... ''I was very feminine when I was growing up and often got harassed and beaten up badly ... the terrible memories flood back when I look at the scars all over my body ... We are called a crude name that translates loosely into faggot and are forced to live underground ... I am living my life openly as a woman. I am very happy … I decided to travel to Thailand to enter this competition not to win but to show suppressed transgender people in Nigeria that they too can make their dreams come true" She highlighted her dislike for tags like transgender, transvestite or transsexual. ''I am a woman. That's it,'' she says. Of the twenty three contestants, she came runner up to 21year old Miss Thailand who went away with USD10,000.