According to her own account, at the age of twelve or thirteen (her birthdate is unknown), she was abducted and sold into slavery in Sudan following a slaving raid on her village.

[1] Six years into her captivity, Nazer was sent to London to be a household servant to a Sudanese diplomat, Abdel al-Koronky, acting chargé d'affaires at Sudan's embassy, who resided in Willesden Green.

This provoked the rise of a movement in support of her, consisting of individuals and human rights groups, including Anti-Slavery International.

In the same year, on 23 November, it was the subject of a stage play entitled Slave — A Question of Freedom, by Feelgood Theatre Productions, featuring British actress Lashana Lynch on the role of Mende.

After the Sunday Telegraph printed a second-hand account of her version of her experience as a slave in September 2000, al-Koronky sued the paper for libel.