Niger's top court has outlawed the practice of keeping women as maids and sex slaves known as "fifth wives," capping a decade-long legal battle by one victim that could inspire others in the West African nation to seek justice, lawyers and activists said.
The "fifth wife" custom — also known as wahaya — is when in addition to the four wives permitted by Islam, rich men take on other, unofficial wives who live as domestic and sexual slaves, said Britain-based group Anti-Slavery International.
Hadizatou Mani, a woman who was forced into slavery as a "fifth wife," escaped over a decade ago and married someone else, but her former master took her to court accusing her of bigamy, said Anti-Slavery International, which backed her case.