“In a post titled “Specially and wonderfully made,” a Nigerian woman Idowu Mary Ronke, who has albinism on Monday September 7, shared how she learned to overcome stigmatization and found self-acceptance after years of battling with suicidal thoughts, bodyshaming and discrimination.
“I’m a kind of person that used to be ashamed of myself for being an Albino, and that’s because of how people always make gest of me by calling me “afin” (albino) and sometimes they’ll call me “afin o n jeyo” ( albino doesn’t take salt), and that always got me being body-shamed, to the extent that I would be weeping and crying, it got to a point where I thought of taking my life, cos I felt so discriminated and criticized,” she wrote.
“Unlike many Albinos who face a variety of health care, dermatological and opthalmologic issues like sunburn and risk of skin cancers, Ronke said her skin looks fresh and healthy. This she credited to her grandmother, who loved and took good care of her.
“But my grandma loved and tried all her possible best to take good care of me and my big sis, (of the same skin color) that people always wondered if I do take salt at all, cos of these theories that albinos don’t take salt, and I always take salt, cos I do eat the same food that others eat. Meanwhile, on the other side, some people would just call me anytime I walk on the street, and they would start appreciating and glorifying God through me, and would even be praying for the person who is taking care of me,”
Ronke also shared an encounter with a lady that further boosted her self-confidence and self esteem.