Henna
“I’m glad he’s a boy.”
Name: Henna
Age: 21
I left my family when I was 16. I’d had enough. My father was away working in different jobs most of the time, and my mother only cared about my brother and wouldn’t let me have any friends of my own. So I left home and joined up with some other girls. Life on the street has taught me that I’m a survivor, I’ve worked and I’ve managed to look after myself.
They can’t buy my soul, and they can’t buy my heart.
Faranza
“I pray to Allah that no girl ever needs to be born in Pakistan.”
Name: Faranza
Age: 63
I had six children altogether with my first husband, but only three survived.
We lived with his family, and it wasn’t really my husband who was the main problem, it was my brother-in-law.
Nur
“He beat me so hard that I left home many times. The police used to pick me up and make me go home again.”
Name: Nur
Age: 17
Almost a year had passed since my mother died. She had divorced my father because he was violent, but she died of a heart disease. That’s why I was living with my father.
Nyota
“I lied about the rape because I thought my mother would beat me.”
Name: Nyota
Age: 14
She stands up during the conversation, she can’t keep her legs together and it hurts too much to sit down. Her mother, Nyabisepela, is furious and wants to tell us what happened. She wants the world to know what happened to her first-born daughter. Nyota also answers our questions. We interview them briefly before we take Nyota to hospital.
Monique
“I made my mind up when he started beating our son.”
Name: Monique
Age: 26
He didn’t want me to leave the house for anything, suspected me of all kinds of things, and when he had beaten me he used to lock me in the house so no-one would see my injuries.
He didn’t drink and he didn’t take drugs. He was just crazy. He threatened to beat me to death if I reported him to police.
Evgenia
“I was unconscious for three days once after he banged my head against the toilet.”
Name: Evgenia
Age: 26
Mapendo
“My husband screamed when they raped me. So they shot him.”
Name: Mapendo
Age: 33
My husband, who was standing there tied up and was forced to watch the rape, screamed out. So they shot him. There was a big hole in his back. I tried to break free but one of the rapists stabbed me in the foot with his bayonet.
