Hadizatou Mani

Hadizatou Mani (born 1984) is a human rights activist from Niger that fought to free herself from slavery in courts of law.

Hadizatou Mani when she visited Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama in 2009.

Life

Mani was born in 1984 in Niger. She had been sold into slavery at the age of twelve for 500 dollars. Slavery is illegal in Niger, but only since 2003, and it is still manifested. She was made to work and to bear three children for her master. He claimed that she was his wife and not his slave. As a result, he accused her of bigamy when she married another man. Mani was sent to jail for six months but she was encouraged to appeal her case.[1][2][3][4]

After she used the courts to overturn her conviction she was given $20,000 in damages and later honored with the 2009 International Women of Courage Award.[5] She was on Time Magazine's 2009 list of the world's 100 most influential people[1] and was honored as one of the BBC 100 Women in December 2022.[6]

References
  1. Salbi, Zainab (30 April 2009). "Hadizatou Mani - The 2009 TIME 100 - TIME". TIME.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009.
  2. "My life as a 'fifth wife' in Niger: The woman who fought her enslaver in court and won". BBC News. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  3. Harter, Fred (2022-06-28). "'He bought me like a chicken': the struggle to end slavery in Niger". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  4. "No more 'fifth wife' sex slaves and maids, Niger's top court rules". SABC News. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  5. "Hadizatou Mani 2009 International Women of Courage Award". DipNote. Archived from the original on 2009-05-02.
  6. "BBC 100 Women 2022: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
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