Contemporary Issues, Honorable mention
Lorena Ros
Fotopress La Caixa for Elle
Fotopress La Caixa for Elle
01 August, 2002
A juju ritual is performed on Betty. A white powder is used to mark the woman out for the god Okun to take her soul. He will keep her soul until she has earned enough to pay her debt to her trafficker. Failure to pay the debt, which can amount to US$ 50,000, is a death sentence. Thousands of Nigerian women are trafficked to Europe every year and forced to work in the sex industry. Having entered countries illegally, they are pushed to the periphery of society and have little access to social care. They remain in financial debt to their traffickers, and are also controlled by juju, a voodoo ritual whereby an oath of loyalty is pledged between a god, the trafficker and the woman.
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