Do they hear you when you cry - fauziya Kassindja

Fauziya Kassindja's harrowing story begins in Togo, Africa, where she enjoyed a sheltered childhood, shielded by her progressive father from tribal practices. But when he died in 1993, her life changed dramatically. At the age of seventeen she was forced to marry a man who already had three wives and to prepare for the ritual of female circumcision. Hours before the brutal ceremony was to take place, Fauziya escaped and fled to the United States to seek asylum. However, her nightmare was far from over. On arrival in America she was stripped, shackled and imprisoned by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Enter Layli Miller Bashir, a young law student, who took on Fauziya's case and fought for her freedom. In a landmark decision that has given hope to many seeking refuge on the grounds of gender-based persecution, Fauziya was finally granted asylum on 13 June 1996.