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| Landmark slavery case for Niger | Landmark slavery case for Niger |
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| Judges are due to rule on Monday on a case of alleged slavery in the West African state of Niger which will have widespread implications for the region. | Judges are due to rule on Monday on a case of alleged slavery in the West African state of Niger which will have widespread implications for the region. |
| Hadijatou Mani, who says she was sold at 12 and forced to work for 10 years, has argued in a regional court that the government failed to protect her. | Hadijatou Mani, who says she was sold at 12 and forced to work for 10 years, has argued in a regional court that the government failed to protect her. |
| The government of Niger says it has done all it can to eradicate slavery. | The government of Niger says it has done all it can to eradicate slavery. |
| Despite being outlawed, slavery also still exists in other West African states such as Mauritania and Mali. | Despite being outlawed, slavery also still exists in other West African states such as Mauritania and Mali. |
| Hadijatou Mani says she was sold to a man called Souleymane Naroua when she was 12 years old. The price was the equivalent of around $500 (£315). | Hadijatou Mani says she was sold to a man called Souleymane Naroua when she was 12 years old. The price was the equivalent of around $500 (£315). |
| She says she was forced to carry out domestic and agricultural work for the next 10 years. | She says she was forced to carry out domestic and agricultural work for the next 10 years. |
| Hadijatou Mani says she was also raped aged 13 and forced to bear the man's children. | Hadijatou Mani says she was also raped aged 13 and forced to bear the man's children. |
| Long battle | Long battle |
| After failing to win her freedom in a series of local court hearings, she took her case to the Court of Justice of the West African regional body Ecowas earlier this year. | |
| There, Hadijatou Mani accused the government of Niger of failing to protect her from slavery, which was criminalised just five years ago. | |
| She is also seeking financial compensation. | She is also seeking financial compensation. |
| A local organisation fighting to end the practice says there are more than 40,000 slaves in Niger. | A local organisation fighting to end the practice says there are more than 40,000 slaves in Niger. |
| One of Hadijatou Mani's lawyers, Ibrahima Kane, says should she win the case it would be life-changing for many people being kept in slavery. | One of Hadijatou Mani's lawyers, Ibrahima Kane, says should she win the case it would be life-changing for many people being kept in slavery. |
| "It will be the end of the status of 'slave' and I hope for many others who are waiting for this decision it will be also a new day because now they will believe that there is a body - when you go before it, it can change your life." | "It will be the end of the status of 'slave' and I hope for many others who are waiting for this decision it will be also a new day because now they will believe that there is a body - when you go before it, it can change your life." |
| The Ecowas court ruling will be binding on all member states and so would have consequences for people being kept as slaves beyond Niger, BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross reports. | The Ecowas court ruling will be binding on all member states and so would have consequences for people being kept as slaves beyond Niger, BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross reports. |
| For generations the children of a slave have automatically become the property of the slave master. | For generations the children of a slave have automatically become the property of the slave master. |
| Hadijatou Mani says one of the reasons she has taken this court action is to secure her two children's freedom and ensure they do not have to endure the same fate. | Hadijatou Mani says one of the reasons she has taken this court action is to secure her two children's freedom and ensure they do not have to endure the same fate. |