This is the final part of the Interview With Isatou A peasant Woman From The Provinces by Amie Sillah of FOROYAA, published in FOROYAA Newspaper Issue NO 38 and 39/2002. Isatou is a peasant woman from the provinces. At the moment she is staying with a maternal uncle in the city. She is undergoing some problems with her husband. Her story is very pathetic. She would like to share it with our readers listen to her. CONTINUED FROM LAST ISSUE FOROYAA: What next? Isatou: My uncle refused to cooperate with them but asked me to move over to another maternal aunt which I did. FOROYAA: Was the maternal aunt as positive as Uncle Omaru? Isatou: Yes she was. She is a liberal. Her husband is in France, She is the second wife. Aunt Saraba is positive and exposed. She spent sometimes in France and conceived all her children there. In fact the children are French citizens. She goes to France by turn, The first wife is there for sometime, comes home and she would go. FOROYAA: She has most of these women liberation ideas which she acquired due to her exposure to golbalisation. She supported me and intact advised me to report my parents to the police. FOROYAA: Did you do that? Isatou: Yes I did. I reported them to the police. FOPROYAA: Did they turn up? Isatou; Yes, my father did turn up. He was addressed harsely. I threatened to commit suicide if forced into marriage. I detested. The police told my father he would be held responsible if anything happened to me. FOROYAA: How did the old man felt? Isatou: He was scared and frightened. At the same time he was very apprehensive. He threatened to disown me if I did anything foolish. He accused me of trying to disgrace him in the midst of his peers, enemies and friends. But he said I would fail. Everybody was talking about me and deciding for me. I was an object. I was confused but my aunt Saraba was behind the scene giving me solidarity. The family suspected that she was the one giving me 'bad' advise but they cannot prove the allegation. She is a smart guy. She only went to Madarassa but when she went to France, she studied French and Business. Now she is very fluent. She is a member of the French Women Movement. She is my heroine. I admired her. I always said to myself had they married me to Abdoulie in the States I would have been like Aunt Saraba. FOROYAA: Yes from there what next? Isatou: To cut a long story short, my parents set a trap for me. They waited until Aunt Saraba went shopping. My father's agents came into my room found me in bed tied my mouth with a cloth and bundled me into a transport and took me to the provinces. FOROYAA: What happened in the provinces? Isatou: My captives tied my legs and asked my husband to rape me. I was raped and disvirgined. I cried my heart out. I was abused and violated. My husband was a widower. Since his wife died' he did not marry. He was having children of my mother's age group. I was very sad and helpless. The incident left me pregnant at the age of 14 years. It was teenage pregnancy. I nearly lost my life during childbirth. An unloved marriage is torturous. Anytime I have a sexual relationship with my husband is raped. There is no love. There is no romance. We continued like this until I bore him six children. Every one and a half year I became pregnant. FOROYAA: From there what next? Isatou: To add insult to injury he is now maltreating me. He said I've now bore him six children. I am an old woman. You know what he did? FOROYAA: No, can you tell me? Isatou: He went and marry another teenage girl of 14 years. The whole vicious circle is to be repeated again. The poverty of the girl's parents forced them to marry their daughter to this wreched old man. He is a bully. He uses supernatural means to hypnotise women and their families. His elder sons in Europe and America send him money which he parade and bluff the townfolk. Their extended family is very large and the old man is very mean and cruel. FOROYAA: Does he sponsor your kids? Isatou: He does not. He said he is punishing me for initially refusing him. FOROYAA: What is your reaction now? isatou: My pride is gone. I literally begged him to take care of his family; that he is the one who put me in this predicament; that I refused him but he forced me and raped me. Now he made me bore him 6 children at the age of 30 years. That my children are now not appealing to a suitor. I am now ragged, abused and violated with 6 children which man will marry me? FOROYAA: What his reaction when you throw all these tirades? Isatou: He would laugh and spit on my face. He would throw insults anal abcenities. He would say my thing is no longer tasty, that he needs tastier ones that is why he married a younger wife. Now he would refuse to sleep with me during my two days. He said my kids are many and they urinate; that he could not pray in my dirty house. I cried my heart out sometimes my frustration made me fight him. He normally beat me mercilessly. He has bruised all my body. I am now desperate. I have difficulty feeding my siblings. My husband said I have mental breakdown. I was advised to come to the city and go to social welfare department. FOROYAA: Did you go? Isatou: I went but these people are not taking me seriously. My appearance is putting people off. My frustration is quite visible. My behaviour is making people believe I am going off my mind. I am always going to the hospital. I found some new friends there. These friends help me with few coins to help my kids. The other day I took my bed net there asking them to help me soak it into an insecticide to prevent malaria. People around were staring and laughing at me. Wherever I go I carry along my six kids. They are not going to school because, I am not steady. I am moving from provinces to the city. My friend at the hospital made an appointment for me to see the doctor. FOROYAA: What did the doctor say when he sees you? Isatou: He said my situation is deplorable: FOROYAA: You have to take it easy before before you have a mental breakdown. Things are difficult yes but with patience you can work it out. Ask Aunt Saraba to borrow you some cash to start a small buisness like frying pancake. Then you can keep your coins in a safe and build up. Then you will be able to take care of your small expenses in taking care of the kids. Later on when you build up you can join an "Osusu" to enable you buy bigger things. While there is life there is hope don't give up my dear sister. Isatou: Thank you very much. I've now found a new friend in you. FOROYAA: Thank you very much for granting us the interview. Isatou: It's a pleasure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: FOROYAA (Freedom) NO: 39/2002 8 - 10 July, 2002 ISSN: 0796- 08573 Address: FOROYAA, P.O.Box 2306, Serrekunda, The Gambia, West Africa Telephone: (220) 393177 Fax: (220) 393177 Email address: [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~