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My name is Aisha and this is my story
Aisha's Song
My name is Aisha Sani Abdullahi
I'm 18 years old and I'm from Nigeria
[PEOPLE SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
I was four or five years old when it happened
According to my mother
the night it happened I went to be quite healthy
but when I woke up the eye was gone
During the cold season it is usually difficult to go out
because when the wind blows into the eye it is very painful
As a result of losing my eye I've faced so many problems
for example if a suitor comes and they see the eye
in most cases they don't ever return
He may not tell me
but I usually know why he left
When I was nine
I wasn't going to school
and so my mother sent me out to work on the streets
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
I started street hawking at the age of 9
I was selling ingredients for making soup such as tomatoes, peppers and onions
To be honest street hawking is horrible
Some people grab your money and run away
or sometimes *** men approach you
and try to talk about sex
and yes they do all that
During that period of my life it was really difficult
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[HORN HONKING]
Now my life has changed
[CHILDREN CHATTERING]
At the time I was going to the mosque
Our religious leader was approached
and was asked if there were any girls interested in learning how to knit
Soon my friend and I started taking knitting classes
Today I teach people how to knit
Through my teaching I want to empower young women
so they can benefit just like I have
Here girls suffer more than boys
I feel that men who say women should not be educated
are denying girls their rights
If a girl is educated she can make a lot of progress in her life
Knitting has given me so many opportunities
As a result of knitting I'm now paying to put myself through school
But my dream in life is to become a lawyer
Women's rights are suppressed
If I become a lawyer I will fight for and defend women
[GIRLS SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
I know that there is a great difference between the Aisha of before
and the Aisha of now