Fatuma Hassen, a 38-year-old mother of four, endured an agonizing 18-year cycle of domestic abuse in her marriage to Abujebar Hassen, a 57-year-old merchant in Dire Dawa and JigJig in Ethiopia.
Throughout those years, Fatuma suffered physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse. Despite the torment, she felt trapped due to her dependency on Hassen, as she was unemployed and relied solely on him for financial support. Compounding her predicament, Fatuma’s family also depended on Hassen’s financial assistance and treated him favorably, shielding him from accountability.
Her silence was enforced by fear, especially concerning her two stepsons from Hassen’s previous marriage, who struggled with substance abuse. Fatuma dreaded that her daughters would fall victim to their abuse.
Fatuma’s marriage was not one of love but coercion, as she was pressured into it by Hassen’s lavish financial gestures towards her family. From the moment she entered her matrimonial home, she endured daily verbal assaults and physical beatings from Hassen, often over trivial matters like their daughters’ food consumption. He would wield any nearby object as a weapon, inflicting severe injuries.
One harrowing incident involved Hassen threatening to bury Fatuma alive in a hole he dug in their backyard, a trauma that left her mentally drained by 2020. With callous disregard for her well-being, Hassen abandoned her on the streets of Harar, where she wandered for five months until her family friend alerted her relatives.
Rescued by her family, Fatuma underwent over a year of psychiatric treatment to recover from the trauma. However, her father, believing she was nothing without Hassen, forced her back into the abusive household, and the violence resumed unabated.
Fatuma’s fortune turned when her brother from Canada visited and learned of her suffering. He promptly took her to the Dire Dawa Women and Children Affairs Office, which referred her to the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) Dire Dawa Branch in June 2023. With EWLA’s support, Fatuma successfully divorced Hassen in 2024, gained custody of their children, secured a portion of the marital assets and received child maintenance payments of Ethiopian (EB) of 15,000.00 per month for her three children, as one had reached adulthood. Her journey from victim to survivor stands as a manifestation of resilience and the transformative power of seeking help and support.
