Unheard Voices from Nigeria
“I want people to know that gender-based violence is a daily reality of a lot of women and girls in this part of the world,” - Etinosa Yvonne
Halima and her sister share a moment. Image by Etinosa Yvonne.
Words & Interview by Nooriyah Qais
Topic warning: Violence
As a Public Health worker attempting to fix every part that the COVID-19 pandemic has touched and destroyed, I have witnessed another pandemic growing in its shadows. Hotline calls and reports of violence against girls and women have exponentially increased in every part of the world causing a surge in gender-based violence. Violence against women and girls is one of the most prevalent human right violations worldwide. One in three women will experience sexual or physical acts of violence in their lifetime. These acts are rooted in gender inequality, abuse of power and harmful norms. During displacement and times of crisis, the threat of gender-based violence significantly increases for women and girls. This piece is a plea for advocacy and action. I hope you find empathy, urgency and strength from this piece and the project that it shares, “Unheard Voices from Nigeria”- a series that recounts what Nigerian women and girls have endured in the shadows for far too long.
For this year’s annual 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, UNFPA has collaborated with self-taught freelance documentary photographer and visual artist, Etinosa Yvonne, to bring some of these women and girls behind the numbers to light. Nigerian native, Etinosa, resigned from her job to create a travel blog, in 2015. Armed with a point and shoot camera in hand, she captured beautiful photographs as she made her way through different states in her motherland. This was only the beginning for the documentary photographer. Etinosa explores the power of photography through her images that cover social development issues in Nigeria, including gender-based violence, “My work currently focuses on exploring and expressing themes related to the human condition and social injustice,” she tells me.
In Nigeria, a whopping 30% of women have experienced gender-based violence. Over a decade ago, Boko Haram began its reign of terror in north-eastern Nigeria, forcing millions of people to flee their homes and settle in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP). Ongoing conflict and attacks in the northeast have made women and girls targets of violence. Should those who are abducted, raped and forced into marriages by armed groups manage to escape, they experience further trauma when shunned and ostracised by their communities. Cultural norms and stigma have produced an environment where victims rarely report incidents. This very short introduction and these overwhelming statistics do not serve the women behind these stories’ justice.
A little over a year ago, Hurairah refused to be forcefully married off by her father. With the intervention of her mother who regularly goes to the UNFPA safe space, she was able to persuade her husband not to give her out in marriage. As Hurairah hopes to be enrolled in school someday soon, she is trying to empower herself by learning how to sew.. Image by Etinosa Yvonne.
In the end of 2019, Etinosa was deployed to the field spending two weeks working with 20 girls and women in various IDP camps. She collected their stories and travelled to the state of Jos to seek solitude for a month in a retreat centre. “I had minimal human interaction that enabled me focus on interpreting and creating the images,” she shares. Having read the stories Etinosa had collected, I can understand how the magnitude and delicate nature of these stories have warranted such focus and dedication. Etinosa carefully studies how to capture the state of mind of survivors she works with. “During my research, I learned about double exposures and subsequently, I began using this artistic approach to draw attention to the state of mind of these women,” she explains. Documenting the distressing realities of these girls and women did not come without emotional and mental challenges, “Quite frankly everyday was a struggle, the realities of these girls and women was so hard to bear. I broke down in January 2020 during post-production because I did not realise I had internalised the pain and I guess I got to my breaking point,” she says.
“To a large extent, women are viewed as objects for sexual gratification, childbearing and homemaking. This rather pathetic view has a cultural and, in some instances, religious backing which fuels the continuous objectification of women in this part of the world. When anomalies like this exist, it is difficult for people to stand up for women and create a society that protects girls and women. By sharing these stories, we are highlighting the gruesome realities that girls and women are faced with on a daily basis and we hope that people can rethink the way they view and treat girls and women,” Etinosa explains the very essence of the issue at hand.
The message of this campaign could not have been amplified through this visual work at a more opportune time. With violence against women and girls, particularly domestic abuse at an all-time high since the outbreak of COVID-19, Etinosa would like to leave viewers with the following powerful message: “I want people to know that gender-based violence is a daily reality of a lot of women and girls in this part of the world. I want them to know that while we continue to advocate for a better world for girls and women, we must carry along boys and men in this conversation if we want to see a change. I want them to look at this project and reflect. I want them to look at this project and unlearn everything they do consciously or unconsciously that enables gender-based violence. More importantly, I want people to look at this project and normalise the conversation about mental health. We need to demystify mental health and build facilities, support networks and structures that can improve people’s mental health. We also need to make these platforms accessible for all regardless of their class, beliefs and gender.”
All names changed for protection.
Hamida (Image 1): “When I was 12 years old, my step-brother told me he wants me to marry his step-brother. His step-brother was in his mid thirties at the time. When we got married, he tried to sleep with me. It was so painful, I fainted. In the third year of our marriage, I gave birth to a baby girl. A few months after I gave birth, my husband got married to another woman and asked me to go and visit my parents. While at home, he sent a divorce letter. While I was preparing to remarry, my husband got word about my proposed marriage. He reached out to my family to say that he had not divorced me. My family supported his claim and asked me to return to him. I ran away with my daughter. So as to cater for my daughter, I became a sex worker. My family heard about it and had disowned me. People call my children bastards. Sometimes I pray for death so that at least my children won’t be picked on anymore.”
Maimuna (Image 4): “My father was killed by Boko Haram insurgents that attacked our community. My family fled our hometown to an IDP camp, I was 13 at the time. While at the camp, a police officer whom we knew would ask me to come to his house so that I could do some work for him. As soon as I got there, he pushed me into his room. He raped me and told me not to tell anyone otherwise he would kill me. He raped me again but the third time I screamed. Fortunately, some neighbors heard me and rescued me. The officer was transferred and my mother refused to follow up the case. People laugh at me, they say I kept going back. It makes me angry, it makes me sad.”
I hope these stories were a reminder of a global issue that was masked in the shadows of COVID-19 and that these stories and photographs translate the urgency of the situation of many women and girls in Nigeria and worldwide. Non-profits are actively fighting for victims and survivors of gender-based violence, join them in the fight by following links below:
https://wacolnigeria.org/
https://womensrightsandhealth.org/our-team/
http://mirabelcentre.org/
https://standtoendrape.org/
Visit UNFPA’s website for the full 16 stories, photographs and videos here and find more from Etinosa, @etinosa.yvonne