Protect 250 Immigrant Women Fleeing Violence

Dear friends,

Thank you for generously donating last December and making it possible for us to secure a spot on the Global Giving website! I want to share with you an exciting and generous opportunity from Global Giving: on Wednesday, March 16, for one day only, Global Giving will match every donation of $1,000 or less at 30% up to a total of $75,000 across all charities on the Global Giving site. In other words, if you donate $100, Global Giving will turn your donation into a $130 gift.

The match begins at 12:01am EST on March 16^th (9:01 pm PST March 15^th) Please help us take advantage of this opportunity and make a donation in support of immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence as early as possible on March 16th. Your gift will help provide representation for women like Uwa:

In Nigeria, a woman’s place is thought to be in the home. But I had other plans. I was determined to pursue a higher education and obtain economic independence, so I attended college, obtained multiple degrees, and worked hard to have a very successful career in banking and finance in the top banks in the capitol, Lagos.

Unfortunately, my husband Ndulu’s family did not care about my career. They were from a different tribe than I was, and told Ndulu that women from my tribe were too hard to control. Though my job supported my husband, many of his siblings, and his extended family, living with them was misery. I was constantly insulted, with Ndulu’s family calling me names like “useless woman” and mocking my tribe. Whenever I tried to assert my independence, they turned their insults to Ndulu for not controlling me better.

Soon, Ndulu too began to insult me, beat me physically, and then rape me, in order to “teach me” to be “his woman.” For over two years I suffered his abuse. Ndulu dragged me from my bed and beat me with an electrical cord, slammed me into the headboard, slapped me, hit me, and kicked me. Once Ndulu’s beatings left me unconsciousness in a pool of blood and nearly caused me to miscarry our daughter. He kept me from seeking medical attention in all but the most dire of circumstances, so to this day my body bears the marks of his abuse.

I tried to get help. I went to our church’s marriage committee for counseling but Ndulu continued to threaten and abuse me in front of the committee, yelling “Leave me alone. If I had a gun I would kill her and nothing would happen to me!” Next I tried the police, but they told me, “Woman, that is a family affair. Go and submit to your husband.”

Finally, I decided to do the unthinkable.

Click here to continue reading Uwa's story on Tahirih's website.

Warm regards,

Layli Miller-Muro
Executive Director

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