Ruona Meyer
Journalist
The Hope Brigade Nigeria, 2021
Sociocultural norms that say women must have something protruding on their chests to be sensual and normal, [it's] why many African women die of breast cancer – they seek help too late. In a world that links femininity, sexuality and self-worth to breasts, my flat chest is my placard – a symbol of my defiance to society’s patriarchal standards. I carry it proudly, everyday. In a world where flat mastectomy, especially in Black women, is deemed unworthy of prominence in mainstream media and in surgery consultations, I’ve seen my flat chest inspire hope, and influence other women to find their voice in deciding to save their own lives. That’s 10 steps forward.
Ruona Meyer is an Emmy-nominated, multimedia journalist with 17 years’ experience, across print, radio, wire agency, TV and digital outlets across Nigeria, South Africa, and the UK. She is currently a PhD candidate at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK; her research interrogates the construct of networked power within investigative journalism nonprofits, specifically covering the impact of digital technologies on investigative journalism production within African-Diaspora networks. Ruona has reported for Reuters, Financial Times, Battabox TV UK, and the BBC, where her investigative documentary ‘Sweet Sweet Codeine’ gave Nigeria and the BBC World Service its first Emmy nomination (2019). Sharing the WSCIJ Nigerian Investigative Reporter of the Year prize in 2013, Ruona also bagged Reuters’ Niall Fitzgerald Prize For Young African Journalists in 2010. A graduate of Microbiology from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, Ruona has postgraduate degrees in Journalism from Wits University, South Africa and the University of Westminster, UK.