Meet Babatunde, The Nigerian Man Who Had Surgery To Transform Himself Into A Woman

Noni Salma, also known as Habeeb Babatunde Lawal, is a Nigerian transgender woman born and raised in Isale-Eko, Lagos.

Babatunde Lowal is a Nigerian art historian and scholar of art. His research focuses on the Yoruba visual culture and its influence in America. Today he is a Professor of Art History at the University of Virginia in the British Community.

While in the United States, Noni began her transition and began attending the New York Film Academy. He soon graduated from film studies and started making films.

One of his most famous works, The Curtain of Silence (which he wrote, directed, and produced) has been shown at various film festivals. This short documentary depicts the sad reality of LGBT (mostly gay) people living in Nigeria.

Noni won the First Treasure Student Film Festival Award for her PhD thesis at NYFA Morning After Midnight and produced and directed the captivating short documentary The Curtain of Silence, which premiered in March 2014 at the BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival in London, England.

Below are before and after photos of Babatunde Lawal;