环球英语 — 466：Hadijatou: No More Slavery
Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ruby Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
“It was very difficult to dispute my former master and to speak out when people see you as nothing more than a slave. But I knew that this was the only way to protect my child from suffering the same future as myself.”
Voice 1
These are the words of Hadijatou Mani, a former slave. She recently brought legal charges against her country of Niger. She said that they failed to protect her against slavery. And in October 2008, Hadijatou won this very important legal ruling! Today’s Spotlight is on Hadijatou and her amazing story of suffering, bravery and much deserved victory.
Voice 2
Hadijatou was born in Niger to a Berber, Taureg family. Her mother was a slave. And by local tradition, this made Hadijatou a member of the slave class. When she was twelve years old, a man named Souleymane Naroua bought her for 500 dollars.
Voice 1
Souleymane made Hadijatou work in his home and on his farm. And when Hadijatou was thirteen, Souleymane raped her. He forced her to have sex with him. This continued for almost ten years. During this time, Hadijatou became pregnant and had his children.
Voice 2
Hadijatou’s master often beat her. She told the news group BBC,
Voice 3
“I was beaten so many times I would run to my family. Then after a day or two, I would be brought back.”
Voice 1
In 2003, Niger passed a law to make slavery illegal. At this time, Hadijatou had been a slave for nine years. But this new law did not free her immediately.
Voice 2
At first, Hadijatou did not know about the new law freeing slaves. However, local leaders had told her master. The leaders advised Souleymane that he had two choices. He could let his slaves go or he could take them as wives.
Voice 1
In 2005, two years after slavery was made illegal in Niger, Hadijatou’s owner gave her a liberation certificate. This piece of paper gave Hadijatou her freedom. However, as soon as she received her “freedom”, her former master forced her to become his wife.
Voice 2
Souleymane already had four wives. This is the limit under Islamic law. However, under Niger’s traditional law, a man can take more wives through a wahiya marriage. These wives are called concubines. They have fewer rights than full wives, but just as many duties. Many people feel that forced concubines are the same thing as sex slaves.
Voice 1
So, even though Hadijatou was “free,” her situation had not changed. However, by this time, she had learned that slavery was illegal in Niger. So, she decided to take Souleymane to court.
Voice 2
The judge ruled that the wahiya marriage was not legal. He said that a marriage could not be forced. Instead, both the man and the woman had to agree to marry. This ruling made Hadijatou very happy. She was finally free. She was neither Souleymane’s slave nor his wife.
Voice 1
Later, Hadijatou met a man that she wanted to marry. However, after she married him, Souleymane took her back to court. He appealed the first court case. And he charged Hadijatou with bigamy. In Niger, it is illegal for a woman to marry a man when she is still legally married to another man.
Voice 2
The first judge had already ruled that Hadijatou and Souleymane were not married. However, the new judge did not agree. He decided that Hadijatou and Souleymane were married. And he found Hadijatou guilty of bigamy. Hadijatou was sent to prison for six months. She also had to pay a fine of 120 dollars.
Voice 1
After this ruling, Hadijatou knew she had to do something. Her whole life, she had never been able to choose anything. She was forced to be a slave. And then she was forced to be a wife. At age 22, she tried for the first time to choose her own path. She chose to marry a new husband. But now, the court had even taken that choice away.
Voice 2
Hadijatou knew that the Nigerien courts had failed her. So she decided to take her case to an international community court of justice - the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS. This court has authority over fifteen West African nations. Its purpose is to make sure that the countries follow the African Charter for Human Rights.
Voice 1
In April 2008, Hadijatou brought legal charges against the country of Niger. She charged the government with failing to protect her from slavery. Hadijatou explained her reason to the news group BBC. She said,
Voice 3
“I was wrongly imprisoned, not because of anything I did but because of slavery. Today there is no more slavery so I wanted the court to show that I had done nothing wrong, to give me my rights which I was denied some four years ago, and to re-pay me.”
Voice 2
On October 27, 2008, the ECOWAS court ruled that Niger had failed to protect Hadijatou from slavery. The court said that Niger was responsible because their courts had not acted to fully enforce their own slavery laws. Hadijatou was awarded 20,000 dollars. This ruling can never be appealed.
Voice 1
The Nigerien government agreed to respect the ruling. They will pay Hadijatou. And hopefully, they will work to make sure this will never happen again.
Voice 2
Hadijatou was very happy about the ruling. She talked with the BBC about what she will do with the awarded money.
Voice 3
“With the money, I will be able to build a house, and I will raise animals and farm land to support my family. I will also be able to send my children to school so they can have the education I was not permitted.”
Voice 1
Hadijatou won her case and received the freedom she deserved. However, the court’s ruling will also mean freedom for many other illegal slaves in Niger. An international anti-slavery group estimates that there are still 43,000 slaves in Niger today. But, because of Hadijatou’s bravery, the issue of illegal slavery has been internationally recognized. People in the Nigerien government will now have to address the issue.
Voice 2
History is full of brave people like Hadijatou. They are people who understood the importance of fighting for human rights. Hadijatou is only one person. And, as a slave, many people thought she had no rights, no voice and no choice. However, Hadijatou knew she was a human being worth more than the five hundred dollars Souleymane paid for her. And she knew that all people were worthy of the freedom she fought for.
Voice 3
“No one deserves to be enslaved. We are all equal and deserve to be treated the same. I hope that every one in slavery today can find their freedom. No woman should suffer the way I did.”
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