In the old village of Kuba, where they believe and practice early marriage and female genital mutilation, lived 13-year-old Amina. Every villager strictly abided by the culture and traditions in fear of the consequences of disobedience.

Amina was barely 12 years old when her father stopped her from attending school to serve the gods of their land for 20 years. During that period, she would bear children for the priest and cater to them all by herself, just as previous victims did.

She wept all night pleading with her mother to intervene, but her mother being vulnerable to her husband, could not confront him. This distracted her, and her grades dropped till her mathematics teacher, Mr. Scott, an Educationist from America, noticed and decided to talk to her.

Mr. Scott communicated his concerns for Amina to the Headmaster and colleagues after she narrated everything to him, but he was warned to stay out of the situation, as it is a cultural practice in the community. This practice infuriated Mr. Scott, and regardless of the warnings, he decided to help Amina.

A few days passed and Amina was taken by her mother into a room, where genital mutilation was performed against her will. This act further broke her down, convincing her to run away or commit suicide. Mr. Scott offered to help her run away to a shelter dedicated to caring for and empowering survivors of violence.

The wedding day between the village priest and Amina was fast approaching. While her family was making plans for the marriage, Mr. Scott was planning Amina’s escape from the village. On the arranged day, Amina made plans to go to school as discussed, but her father locked her up in the room as he heard of Amina’s plans to abscond from one of the village teachers. Amina was devastated that their plans did not pull through but was grateful to Mr. Scott for his efforts and support.

Amina was taken to the priest after the rituals were done. That night, she was raped by the priest and consoled by other victims. Over time, she got pregnant and became accustomed to her new way of life.

Months passed, and she sneaked to see her Teacher Mr. Scott. She pleaded with him to give her private classes so she can write her final examination, to which he agreed.

The time to sit for the examination came, but the priest refused her writing it. Being an excellent student, the Headmaster and teachers pleaded on her behalf with traditional items (gin, kola nuts, etc.) The greedy priest agreed, and she wrote the final examination. She was thrilled that her dream was soon coming to pass, regardless of the difficulties she had to face.

Weeks passed, and the examination results were out. Amina topped the chart as the best pupil from the state. Additionally, she was awarded a scholarship to study at any school of her choice till her undergraduate level.

Unfortunately, Amina died during childbirth due to complications and lack of proper health services. Amina’s last wish was for Mr. Scott to train her surviving daughter so she could fulfill her dreams.

Mr. Scott accepted the offer wholeheartedly and vowed to abolish the tradition with the help of the government agency he was already working with. After much hassle, the practice was considered illegal and punishable by law. The ritual, female genital mutilation, and early marriage became a thing of the past in her community.

We choose to see Amina as a survivor and trailblazer.