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Girls bought and sold “like a chicken” in Niger

In Niger today, tens of thousands of people are enslaved, trapped in generational cycles. Slavery remains deeply entrenched in Niger despite efforts to eradicate these practices through legislation to officially criminalize the practice.

Wahaya

Wahaya is one of the common forms of bondage in the country, where girls are bought to perform domestic work and sexual services for as little as $200.

Typically it is wealthy men and traditional leaders who buy girls under wahaya. Under Islamic law, men are allowed to have a maximum of four wives and an unofficial “fifth wife” who undertakes the domestic labor.

Dr. Benedetta Rossi, who slavery in Niger at University College London said “You are also producing labour because the wahaya is constantly working – she fetches water, she cleans, she cooks, she does jobs free wives cannot do because they are supposed to stay at home.”

Wahaya is mostly practiced in the southern region of Niger, called the “triangle of shame” by Timidria – an anti-slavery organization in Niger.

Al-Husseina Amadou's story

Al-Husseina Amadou is just one woman who was bought as a wahaya when she was a young girl. Al-Husseina was born into slavery, liker her parents. She recalls her experiences of being bought as a “fifth wife” by a wealthy man from Nigeria. Al-Husseina was taken across the border to Nigeria where she was forced into for this man and his family.

The Guardian reports:

“My parents had no say,” she recalls. “I was just a girl and he bought me like a chicken in the market. When I left with him, I was crying with my mother.”

[…]

“If I fled or didn't work, the wives and even the children would beat me,” Amadou says. “It was a pitiful situation. I was skinny because I was always hungry. If my husband bought food he would just give it to his wives and children. I got nothing.”

Eventually, Al-Husseina managed to escape with some camel herders who helped her cross the border back into Niger where she was supported by Timidria.

Resistance to change

Timidria and anti-slavery activists in Niger who visit villages to identify victims of slavery, inform enslaved people of their rights and help them with legal cases, face resistance.

Women who are supported to speak out against their enslavement face being punished by police who turn a blind eye to the practice. and even judges aren't aware that wahaya is in fact illegal.

However, activists continue to raise of the harms of slavery. Ali Bissou, head of Timidria says  “Even today, if you visit the house of a chief in the ‘triangle of shame', you will find wahayas, for sure. The best thing we can do is keep raising awareness that this is illegal.”

 

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original location.

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EYES ON TRAFFICKING

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.

ABOUT PBJ LEARNING

PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.