CLAIM: 16-Year-Old Girl Flogged For Refusing to Marry a 77-Year-Old Man In Zamfara
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There is a circulating video of a young girl being flogged brutally with an accompanying claim that she was being punished for her refusal to marry a 77-year-old Fulani Man in Zamfara state (Sensitive and graphic image below)
(Screenshot of the post)
On March 7, 2025, an X user @four_unit posted the video with the caption: “JUST IN:7/3/25 :Zamfara State N🇳🇬 Zoo This Hausa young lady of 16yrs of age was forced into marriage with an old fulani man 77 yrs, she ran back home waiting for school to re-open do to Ramadan, ME: 🇳🇬 must stop this islamic barbarism .Free MNK, end 🇳🇬 @AU @UN @WHITEHOUSE”.
In the one minute eight seconds video, the girl was beaten with sticks on her buttocks, and her dress raised exposing her private parts.They stopped flogging her at approximately one minute into the video and resorted to using their fists on her.
As of the time this report was published, the post had over 5,000 views. In the comment section, @Naadiyalle10287 said “This is not Hausa people please stop lies”, while @IgboAmaka6 wrote “This is why we can’t co-exist Fulani”.
VERIFICATION
A screenshot from the footage was put through Google reverse image, the results revealed that the video is not recent and did not happen anywhere in Nigeria. The original video was posted on X here, here and here, between January 30–31, 2023, and there was also an Instagram post describing the event that led to the horrifying video.
“The girl being beaten is from Kuria. She had run away from home to avoid the act of fgm on her, she stayed on a rescue centre until school opened and as she was going back home to get her belongings so that she could report back to school the brother got hold of her and he initiated the beating from himself and his friends, they later took her to the forest and performed a worst fgm operation on her, anyhow she was taken to hospital with too much bleeding and the brother was arrested. Hope she will get justice,” Usikimye_, a gender-based violence organisation in Kenya narrated in their IG post.
Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, remains a significant issue in Kenya’s Kuria community, with numerous reports of girls fleeing their homes to avoid the practice. In December 2019, twenty-two girls from Kuria East sought refuge at Tarang’anya Primary Boarding School to escape FGM. Susan Mutinde, chairperson of the community-based organization GOSESO, confirmed that the girls were in safe custody but faced challenges regarding basic needs like food and clothing.
Similarly, in October 2020, over 50 girls from Kuria East and Kuria West sought refuge at a temporary rescue center at Tarang’anya Girls’ Secondary School during the circumcision season. Some girls reported fleeing their homes upon learning about impending circumcision plans.
In January 2023, approximately 600 girls from the Kuria community escaped FGM and sought refuge in six rescue centers. Efforts were made to reintegrate these girls into their families to continue their education. Authorities prosecuted 38 suspects, mainly parents and relatives, for failing to report and aiding FGM.
While these reports highlight the lengths to which girls go to avoid FGM, they do not detail specific cases of physical assault for fleeing. However, the Kuria community has instances where women who refuse FGM face rejection and abuse. For example, a woman identified as Bhoke experienced domestic violence and societal ostracism for not undergoing the ‘cut.’
CONCLUSION
The footage and accompanying claim that a young girl was flogged brutally for her refusal to marry a 77-year-old Fulani Man in Zamfara state, Nigeria is MISLEADING as the video is from a an incident in Kuria, Kenya, involving the case of FGM. The video has also been in circulation since January 2023.
