Katsina, and indeed all five other states in the Northwest are under strict Islamic Sharia law.
The deteriorating security situation and hardship are pushing some displaced women to take to prostitution for survival in Katsina State, Northwest Nigeria.
Katsina, and indeed all five other states in the Northwest are under strict Islamic Sharia law.
SaharaReporters can report that some of the affected women have opened up on their battle against the harsh realities of poverty, insecurity and gender-based exploitation.
The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Binta Dangani, confirmed the troubling situation to journalists on Saturday.
Dangani noted that four women (names withheld) who shared their sad stories were being rehabilitated by the agency.
One of them narrated, "My family fled our community to escape attacks by bandits. Unfortunately, we lost my mother in the process. Left with no home and abandoned by my uncle, I was forced to take to prostitution for survival.”
“My mother is dead. We ran away from our community for fear of bandits. One man now picked me up and took me to his house where he repeatedly had sex with me countless times. That’s how I became pregnant,” she added.
Another victim said she was separated from her father due to maltreatment by her stepmother.
Narrating her ordeal, she said, “I was always in dispute with my stepmother and my father always took sides with her by beating me mercilessly without finding out what happened.
“When I couldn’t bear the maltreatment anymore, I decided to leave the house. Thank God I had some money with me; so, I came to Katsina metropolis. You get only N500 after a night's work," she said.
"The exploitation is so humiliating because often you get paid through a middle person," another victim disclosed.
The SEMA boss further disclosed, “One of the victims had resorted to aborting her pregnancy. Two other victims were also pregnant. One was eight months pregnant, while the other had been pregnant for five months. The fourth victim is not pregnant but has been exploited countlessly by different men.”
She also noted that the state governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, who was informed of the development, had directed that shelter, food, clothing and mattresses be provided for the victims.