Story highlights Acclaimed author faced heavy criticism for her comments on transgender women

Adichie later clarified her comments on Facebook but did not apologize

(CNN) Acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is standing by her comments on transgender women which caused widespread outcry last week.

Adichie was accused of implying transgender women are not "real women," after a interview with Channel 4 last week, where she suggested the experiences of transgender women differ from women who are born female. Her comments drew immense criticism, resulting in Adichie posting a "clarification" of her earlier remarks on Facebook.

"From the very beginning, I think it's been quite clear that there's no way I could possibly say that trans women are not women," she said.

"It's the sort of thing to me that's obvious, so I start from that obvious premise. Of course they are women but in talking about feminism and gender and all of that, it's important for us to acknowledge the differences in experience of gender. That's really what my point is."

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