'He has never been charged. Never convicted ... He thought he would get away with it, tried to erase me. I thought I would never speak of it, that I would remain invisible. We were both wrong, because I am here.'
The Associated Press
The nation was riveted when she held a press conference to share her account via social media and in a human rights report in June 2019. She also testified months later to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In the book, co-written with journalist Kim Pattaway, Jallow describes her journey from the daughter and granddaughter of women who in their own way pushed against the country’s patriarchy to the evening of her alleged rape and her tense escape and the resulting traumas and challenges.
Coming from a humble background, Jallow was swept into a high-profile role because of her scholarship, attending many public events with then-president Jammeh. After receiving gifts from Jammeh, who was already married, and rejecting his proposal to become one of his wives, Jallow was lured to the president's private quarters, where she says he drugged and raped her.Jallow didn’t tell a soul in Gambia, fearing the worst for herself and her family.
“For the longest time ... I would always shove it aside," she said of her trauma. But seeing statistics for sexual assault with so few being held accountable bothered her. “I have never felt more invisible," she said of that period. Jallow speaking out was a “wind of change” in Gambia, said Marion Volkmann-Brandau, a women’s rights activist who helped guide Jallow and led the human rights investigation into sexual assault in Gambia that saw her come forward.
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