**Riveting . . . harrowing and propulsive. --The New York Times Book
Review
**
*One of The Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2021 (Kirkus Reviews,
Publishers Weekly)*
This powerful story shouldn't be missed. --Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
With subject matter like this, you'd expect the book to be worthy,
important, but hard-going. You'd be two-thirds right. The same qualities
that prompted Toufah to break the barriers she did have allowed her to
leaven the tale with humour, and a lot more of the good she encountered
along the way than the bad that set her on her path. --The Toronto
Star
**An incandescent and inspiring memoir of resilience from a courageous
young woman whose powerful advocacy brings to mind the presence,
resolve, and moral authority of Malala and Greta Thunberg
**
Before launching an unprecedented protest movement, Fatou Toufah Jallow
was just a 19-year-old dreaming of a scholarship.
Encouraged by her mother to pursue her own ambitions, Toufah entered a
presidential competition purportedly designed to identify the country's
smart young women and support their educational and career goals. Toufah
won.
Yahya Jammeh, the dictator who had ruled The Gambia all of Toufah's
life, styled himself as a pious yet progressive protector of women. At
first he behaved in a fatherly fashion toward Toufah, but then proposed
marriage, and she turned him down. On a pretext, his female cousin then
lured Toufah to the palace, where he drugged and raped her.
Toufah could not tell anyone. There was literally no word for rape in
her native language. If she told her parents, they would take action,
and incur Jammeh's wrath. Wearing a niqab to hide her identity, she gave
Jammeh's security operatives the slip and fled to Senegal. Her eventual
route to safety in Canada is full of close calls and intrigue.
18 months after Jammeh was deposed, Toufah Jallow became the first woman
in The Gambia to make a public accusation of rape against him, sparking
marches of support and a social media outpouring of shared stories among
West African women under #IAmToufah.
Each brave and bold decision she made set Toufah on the path to reclaim
the personal growth and education that Jammeh had tried to steal from
her, a future also of leadership and advocacy for survivors of sexual
violence, especially in heavily patriarchal countries lacking resources
and laws to protect women and even the language with which to speak
openly about sexual threats and violence.
"This terrific book had me on the edge of my seat, and sends an
inspiring message to all women about the power of their voice." --Anna
Maria Tremonti
**"My (s)heroes do not wear capes... they call out injustices with
enough grace and forgiveness to heal anyone that hears their story.
Toufah is that graceful shero the world desperately needs." --Celina
Caesar-Chavannes **
"Toufah's story is horrifying and infuriating, but ultimately also
hopeful and inspiring because of what she was able to achieve out of
such darkness. To anyone who cares about addressing gender-based
violence, this is essential reading." --Robyn Doolittle
