Aminata*, 17, was taken by the
Islamic group from her hometown Borno State in Nigeria two years ago and
married off to an insurgent.
She had no choice but to live with
the group who made her 'witness terrible things.'
I
came in contact with Boko Haram insurgents in my hometown in Borno State,
north-eastern Nigeria.
They
saw me at
my
uncle’s house during their first attack on our town. I have lived
with my uncle
since I was two years old.
My
biological father and family live in Cameroon.
Boko
Haram invaded the town and convinced my uncle to join them. They also asked if
there were any girls in his compound. They offered 1,000 naira for each
girl.
I
was sitting next to my grandmother when they dragged me to a car. They took me
to an unknown location outside my town.
They
had taken me and another 14 girls from my neighbourhood. I was held there for
two months and then I was forced to marry one of the insurgents.
Before
you marry an insurgent, you are a maid. You wash plates and cook for the
insurgents. But when you get married, you become a wife and also focus on only
him.
The
‘wedding’ had nothing. There was no clothing, no lotions, no creams, no
It
was just in my old clothes that I went to the house of my ‘husband’, which was
just a hut with a room in it. That was where we lived.
And
every time he wanted to have sex I refused, and then he would rape me and beat
me up. I cannot count the number of times he has beaten me.
I
lived there with the armed group for two years. It was a very bad experience. I
have witnessed terrible things, including the slaughtering of women in a town
by the insurgents.
They
killed women who refused to marry them. Once they caught someone who had
married another wife without telling them.
They
buried him up to his head in the ground. Then they stoned his head until he
died. It was a public punishment that we were forced to watch.
In
some villages, when they attack, they steal cattle and sell it off before
feeding their wives and children.
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