Violence Against Women
World Vision is extremely concerned about the plight of girls and young women in Northern Mali, amid growing reports of young women being beaten, sexually assaulted and forced to become 'brides' for armed opposition groups.
In recent days, World Vision staff have been hearing from girls and women who have fled Northern Mali. Some of these include:Sata, 16
Sata's story was told to us by a woman called Namina. In December, Namina escaped from Timbuktu, the world- famous city that fell to armed opposition groups, who imposed their own strict social and religious controls on the populace. Namina left with her three young daughters and six other children from her village. Her neighbors and their 16-year old daughter Sata were left behind after Sata was kidnapped.
"I saw a group (of rebels) come to the house and take Sata by force," Namina reveals. "They gave her parents CFA 10,000 ($20) to 'marry' Sata. But the parents said no. The girl was weeping and tried to tear herself away from her captors. Her mother was weeping. But they came with guns. Sata was taken."
Namina said a few days later Sata managed to get hold of a mobile phone while her captors were away. She was able to call her family and told them that she was placed in a house preparing food for her abductors. Initially they told her that she was the wife of one man but later told her she was to be 'shared'. Sata claimed multiple men had raped her. Sata had been warned not to try to escape or she would be killed and her family targeted. Her parents did not dare go to the camp to try and rescue her but they stayed behind hoping for news.
Fatou, 16
Fatou, 16, also fled Timbuktu with her mother.
"One day, my mother sent me to the market. I knew that girls were supposed to wear a scarf to cover our heads. But that day I was not wearing one and the 'rebellion police' saw me. They said they were going to give me a lesson. They beat me up badly."