A tragic story of a woman who lost her life after enduring years of domestic violence from her husband has sparked outrage on social media.
The woman, who was married to a violent man, was beaten regularly by him, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness. He would lock the doors and windows, turn up the music volume, and assault her, so that no one could hear her cries for help.
The woman, who had four children with her husband, refused to leave the marriage despite the advice of her relatives and neighbours. She said she wanted to stay for the sake of her children, who were still young. She also continued to have more children with her abuser, the youngest being a 7-month-old baby.
Two weeks ago, an old woman living in their compound called the woman’s mother, urging her to come and take her daughter away if she wanted her to live. The mother said that the woman had insisted on staying with her husband. The old woman said that the husband was going to kill her one day.
Her words came true on Thursday, November 2, 2023, when the husband beat the woman as usual in the morning. The woman, however, seemed to recover from the beating and went about her normal chores. She stayed up till 11 p.m., washing and hanging clothes. Neighbours saw her alive.
The next morning, they were shocked to hear that the woman was dead. The husband claimed that he slept in the sitting room while she slept in the bedroom, and that he only found her dead when he entered the room in the morning. Neighbours said that her bed was soaked with water, but they did not know why.
The husband said that he wanted to bury her immediately, as he had no money to pay for the mortuary. The woman’s father, who heard the news of his daughter’s death, had a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital, but he did not survive. He was the only daughter of his father.
The woman’s 7-month-old baby cried all day and refused to eat anything. She was looking for her mother’s breast milk. She cried until she developed a fever.
The woman’s death has affected many lives, especially her four children, who are now motherless and fatherless. They may end up being separated and sent to different relatives, who may or may not treat them well.
A mutual friend of the woman, identified as Tolulope Fadekemi, who was at their place yesterday, shared this story on her Facebook Page. She was crying bitterly on the phone, saying that the woman chose to die. Fadekemi said that she told her to stop crying, as the woman had no value for her life.
Fadekemi also said that she writes daily for women to learn from such stories, but some are determined to waste their lives. She said that some women in abusive marriages will read this post and say “it’s not my portion”, and keep staying in the marriage.
She said that she could not help everybody and that women should value their lives and leave abusive marriages. She said that women should not stay for the sake of their children, or worry about what society will say, or how they will survive, or if they will find another man, or if the children need a father, or if the husband will change. She said that women should just leave, before it is too late.
