Mariama Moussa: Speaking out to Break the Silence on Violence Against Women in Niger

My name is Mariama Moussa. My journey is that of a woman who chose to transform a personal ordeal into a commitment to others. As a social sciences student, I married for love. But very soon, my marriage was marked by domestic violence and ended in repudiation. I could have remained silent and tried to forget. Instead, I chose another path: to fight so that other women would no longer have to endure such violence in silence.

In 1998, I founded the organization SOS Femmes et Enfants Victimes de Violences Familiales (SOS FEVVF), an organization supporting women and children survivors of domestic violence. At that time, speaking publicly about domestic violence was still taboo in Niger. Yet I knew that many women were experiencing these situations without knowing where to turn for help. With my team, we wanted to create a listening space where survivors could find support and assistance.

Since its creation, more than 2,000 women and children have been supported by SOS FEVVF. We assist survivors by providing psychosocial, legal and medical support, while facilitating their access to health, police and justice services. For a long time, women had to move from one institution to another—from health centres to police stations and courts—to obtain help. This process was difficult and discouraging.

Today, thanks to the strengthening of holistic care centres established by UN Women Niger through the Spotlight Initiative funded by the European Union, survivors can access several essential services in one place: medical care, psychosocial support, legal assistance and referrals to defence and security forces, in strict accordance with the universal case management protocol. Within this framework, SOS FEVVF continues to play an important role in welcoming, listening to and referring survivors.

Over the years, my commitment has also been recognized internationally. In 2014, I received the Women for Change Award from the Orange Foundation. I was also associated with the first International Gender Equality Prizeinitiated by the Government of Finland, whose laureate was Angela Merkel. In a gesture of solidarity, the Chancellor chose to donate the monetary component of the prize to our organization. Thanks to this support, we were able to build a secure shelter in Niamey for women survivors of violence and their children: the House of Hope. In her speech, Angela Merkel described our organization as “a beacon of hope for women and girls in Niger.” It was this phrase that inspired me to give this name to the centre.

Today, the House of Hope provides temporary accommodation and holistic support to women survivors of violence and their children. Beyond shelter, we also continue important prevention work through radio programmes, conferences, media campaigns and dialogues with communities to break the taboos surrounding gender-based violence.

The Spotlight programme has also enabled the implementation of innovative initiatives, such as taxi drivers trained as ambassadors, who are equipped to recognize signs of violence and refer survivors to support structures such as SOS FEVVF.

More than two decades after creating my organization, I remain convinced of one thing: silence does not protect women, but solidarity and action can change lives. My hope is that every woman and girl in Niger will be able to live free from violence, in dignity and respect.

This story was collected and written by Fatimata Boubacar Seyni, Communication Analyst (Niger), as part of the regional campaign Justice in Action: Breaking Barriers in West and Central Africa.

Email: fatimata.seyni@unwomen.org
Tel: +227 96292979