Pamela Adie is a Nigerian LGBT rights activist, public speaker, screenwriter and filmmaker. Pamela is hailed as a prominent public speaker advocating for the LGBTQ community and has often raised her voice on empowering the LGBTQ community in Nigeria.
Her research and works about LGBT rights in Nigeria have been featured in several LGBT anthologies. She rose to prominence with her directorial debut, Under the Rainbow, reflecting her memoir.
Early life and career
Biwom Pamela Adie Known as Pamela Adie was born April 15th 1984, in Calabar, Cross River state, to Mr and Mrs Adie before they had her younger brother and younger sister. She is from Obudu in Cross River state.
She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. She pursued her MBA degree at Webster University and completed her master’s degree from the University of Baltimore.
Although she was married to a man, she came out as openly lesbian after discussing it with her family members. She said in an old interview that her husband didn’t deserve to be lied to for so long and that she left him so that he could move on and find someone else.
She pursued her career as an 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.
She wrote, directed and produced Nigeria’s first lesbian-focused documentary film titled Under the Rainbow (2019), which primarily focuses on her personal life.
In 2019, she was nominated and shortlisted among ten nominees for the inaugural edition of the Mary Chirwa Award, initiated in 2018. She has been conferred this nomination in recognition of her courageous leadership.
Her production venture Ìfé is deemed Nigeria’s first lesbian film. She is the executive director of the non-governmental organisation Equality Hub
Ìfé
Ìfé, also spelt Ife (English: Love), is a 2020 Nigerian LGBT romantic film executive produced by Pamela Adie and directed by Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim. The film is touted to be the first full-fledged lesbian based movie in the history of Nollywood.
She announced her intention to make a feature film on the lesbian community in Nigeria and executively produced the film Ìfé. The film’s production 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.
The film is regarded as Nigeria’s first-ever lesbian feature film, and concerns about censorship also emerged due to the film genre. However, the film’s release was delayed due to censorship issues, and Pamela Adie, along with the film director, was threatened by the authorities with possible imprisonment after allegations emerged regarding the attempt by the filmmakers to release the film internationally.
Pamela’s work has put a spotlight on lesbians in Nigeria and her efforts have spurred essential conversations about the LGBTQ community in Nigeria.
