Hadizatou Mani

Hadizatou Mani (born 1984) is a Nigerien human rights activist who fought a legal battle to free herself from slavery, and who since her emancipation has acted as an anti-slavery advocate.

[1] Multiple legal battles ensued following Mani's emancipation; the first upheld her freedom, while a second stated that this was not the case.

[1][2] A final court case in 2008, in which Mani was supported by Anti-Slavery International and Timidria and presented her case before the court of the Economic Community of West African States, was ultimately successful; ECOWAS subsequently called on its member states to protect their citizens against slavery.

[2] Despite Mani's legal victory, slavery continues to occur in Niger, and Mani has since become an anti-slavery campaigner and has helped other female victims of slavery through Timidria to challenge their enslavements in legal courts.

This included a 2014 court case in which a man was sentenced to four years imprisonment for enslaving a woman.