* Because the real problem is the “glass ceiling”
Landmark ruling in Niger: State guilty of failing to protect slave girl
* Newslinks:Â
Leo McKinstry:Â WOMEN ARE THE LOSERS WHEN WE CONCEDE TO THE MUSLIM HARDLINERS
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The Guardian makes no mention, of course, of the fact that this girl’s status as a slave and a concubine is sanctioned by Islamic law. “And all married women are forbidden unto you save those captives whom your right hands possess…” (Qur’an 4:24). Until that changes, hardline Muslims will reject rulings like this. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Niger.
* Â Anti Slavery International estimates there are still at least 43,000 slaves in Niger.
“Niger guilty in landmark slavery case,” from The Guardian, October 27:
Arab master, black slave
A court in west Africa today convicted Niger of failing to protect a young girl sold into slavery in a landmark judgment with potentially far-reaching implications for the tens of thousands of people who remain enslaved in the region.The justice arm of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) ruled that Niger, where slavery remains common in rural areas despite being officially abolished five years ago, had failed in its obligations to protect Hadijatou Mani.
Mani, who brought the case with the assistance of British-based anti-slavery groups, has said she was sold into slavery at the age of 12 for around £325 and regularly beaten and sexually abused.
“I am very happy with this decision,” she told reporters after the ruling was announced, Reuters reported.
The court, sitting in the Niger capital of Niamey, ordered the state to pay her 10 million CFA francs (about £12,000) in damages and accumulated interest.
The ruling by the panel of judges from Senegal, Mali and Togo will bring hope to the more than 40,000 people being held as slaves in rural Niger and across the region.
Speaking before the judgment, Mani said: “It was very difficult to challenge 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 fate. Nobody deserves to be enslaved.”
The life of a sadaka, or sexual slave, was described in detail by Mani during the court case. She explained how she had been born a slave, sold and then transferred as a child against her mother’s wishes to a man named El Hadj Souleymane Naroua. She testified that she had been raped at 13 and constantly forced to have sex with her 63-year-old master, who owned seven other slaves.
In 2005, two years after Niger enacted a law forbidding slavery, Mani was presented with a “liberation certificate”. This proved to be worthless, as she was immediately forced into a “wahiya marriage”, with the status of a concubine….
The West African country of Niger has been found guilty of failing to protect a woman sold into slavery.
From ABC
A court has ordered the Niger Government to pay the woman $32,000.
Hadijatou Mani was just 12 years old when she sold to a man, who forced her to perform domestic and agricultural work.
She served him for 10 years and also became his sex slave, bearing him children.
“My master has four wives. We the slaves were doing all the housework like cooking, fetching water and firewood. I was beaten so many times.”
Ms Mani accused the Niger government of failing to protect her from slavery, which was criminalised five years ago.
Her lawyer, Ibrahim Kane, says the judgement will bring hope to other slaves.
“There are thousands and thousands of slaves in Niger who will be today relieved to hear that you know the practice of slavery in this country is not allowed,” he said.
Anti Slavery International estimates there are still at least 43,000 sla
Liberal progressives have no problem with Koranic slavery because it is a custom of a specially protected (by the media at least) group according to PC canon. It falls in the category of “How dare you attack the sensitivities of a highly regarded member of the diversity family”.