Azara, Niger "I can't count the number of times he raped me"

Azara (not her real name) and her children live in Niger's northern Agadez region. She was born a slave and suffered terribly under her master before she finally managed to escape. This is her story.

"My name is Azara, I am 25 years old. I was born into slavery - my whole family are slaves, my parents served the same masters. I have two children: both are from my master when he raped me. My daughter, Khdiza, is eight years old and my son, Mahamout, is three years old.

"I worked so hard - I had to pound millet and fetch water all the time; I worked day and night; I had to do whatever my master told me to do - it was out of the question to say 'no'. If I ever said 'no', I was beaten so hard. I tried once to resist, but he beat me with his hands.

"Two of my sisters are still slaves to him. When I was there, there were three women slaves and one man.

"Our master was a nomadic Tuareg - we lived in tents and moved every two months. It was us [slaves] who had to fold the tents and move them. If [we were going] far away we used donkeys, but if it was close we had to carry [our belongings] on our heads. For us [slaves], if it wasn't raining we had to sleep outside.

"I can't remember any specific times that were bad - my whole past is marked with hard memories. Now I am here, when I remember about all I have lived through I feel so sad. My masters used to tell me I was their slave, and I knew I was such. They used to shout, 'You slave! You slave!'

"I never got married - I have children because my master raped me. In spite of my daughter being his daughter, she too was seen as his slave. I can't count the number of times he raped me - as far back as I can remember he sexually abused me. I was probably the age of my daughter [when he started]. He used to take me to his tent, often tie my legs to the bed, and rape me. His wife left him when she found out he was sleeping with a slave.

"If I ever tried to resist he used to beat me - I had to give in, I was a slave, I had no right to resist his orders. Whenever he wanted to sleep with me he would; he never gave me any reason; he never spoke to me in any way to justify raping me, as he didn't consider me to be worth anything. He considered me as his own property; I was considered as his animal. I don't know if he raped anyone else.

"I have had three children, but one died. When I ran away I was pregnant with my young boy."