Landmark case gives hope to thousands held in slavery

Source: Guardian UK

In one of the most extraordinary episodes in African legal history, a panel of judges from Senegal, Mali and Togo will tomorrow issue a verdict expected to give fresh hope to more than 40,000 people being held as slaves in rural Niger and across the region.
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Ms Mani was sold into slavery at the age of 12 and repeatedly raped by her master. Her appalling story is familiar in a country where the ownership of slaves, many from a hereditary slave caste, has been commonplace, particularly in remote rural areas.
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In 2005, two years after Niger enacted a law forbidding slavery, she was presented with a 'liberation certificate'. This proved to be worthless, as she was immediately forced into a 'wahiya marriage', with the status of a concubine ...


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/26/human-rights-niger-verdict

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Mother Africa, Traditional Values, and Cultural Relativism non-withstanding, I find that I agree with Ms Mani "Nobody deserves to be enslaved."

I'm sure those stories will be rolling out next week to infuse our Halloween with another sickly-sweet dose of cognitive dissonance.

:kick: