Stephen Enoch
At 29, Juliana Bwala, who was battling with deteriorating eyesight, believed she was stepping into a new life of love and security.
Coming from Borno State to Kano to treat the glaucoma she had been battling with, she met a man at ECWA Eye Hospital who proposed love to her.
He said he loved me and wanted to marry me, promising that he would take care of me wholeheartedly,” she told Stallion Times.
Juliana’s mother, who had been her main support system, had spent over N2,000,000 on treatment and medical sessions before Juliana’s sight was restored.
Before the marriage, Juliana said her mother had cautioned her lovingly.
“Ensure you take good care of yourself in your new home and respect your husband so that he takes care of you as well,” she recalled.
After performing all the marriage rites, the two got married.
The Descent Into Violence
Just a few years after the marriage, the promise of love she was vested on soon turned into chains of pain.
According to Juliana, her husband began showing signs of neglect as he left house rent unpaid, squandered money meant for their home, and forced Juliana to carry burdens she never imagined in marriage.
“Coupled with the snack business I was doing, i had to start begging my neighbors, family and friends to get money to sustain the family because my husband wasn’t ready to take responsibility.
“My mother was always sending financial help and foodstuffs for the upkeep of the family.
My husband was never responsible for once and he never cared.
“After my mother died, that was when everything changed.
“My husband started beating me anytime there was no food in the house.
“He would always blame me for the state of our finances.
“There was a night he choked my throat till I almost passed out because I used the water he bought to wash our bed sheet.
“I still stayed in the marriage because she had been raised to believe that a woman’s place was beside her husband, no matter the cost.”
She said her relatives advised her not to bring shame to the family by running home.
According her, her relatives believed that the society also whispered that a broken marriage was a woman’s failure, adding that marriage is for better or worse.
The Violence Escalated in 2021
“That was the year I almost lost my life.
“He asked me for N5,000 which I didn’t have and because of that he beat me mercilessly, calling me a liar.
“He locked all the doors and beat me from my head to my feet. It was so bad that I got blind that evening.
“I lost consciousness and he fled, leaving me with the children.
“My neighbors found me bleeding and half conscious, with my two little children crying beside me.
“It was my neighbor who called her family in Borno, who rushed to Kano and took me to the hospital.
“For weeks I was totally blind and diagnosed of chronic trauma,” Juliana revealed.
According to Julaina, she stayed away from her husband for more than a year until she was able to partially regain her sight, although her right eye became totally blind because of the severity of her violence against her.
Despite all that, Juliana returned home as the fear of stigma kept her locked in a prison of silence.
In her community, seeking justice meant exposing family secrets, something many women were warned never to do.
Juliana’s Decision to Fight Back
During her year-long stay away due to medical attention, Juliana’s children were out-of-school and that made her resolve to look for an escape route to leave so she can take care of the children by any means.
For the past two years, he has been telling people that he doesn’t want to see me, that he hates me. Now he wants to take my children to a place I don’t even know in Ibadan.
“I can’t take it anymore.
He can hurt me, but not my children,” she said as tears rolled down her cheek.
Now she is fighting back with the support of the National Human Rights Commission in Kano.
“I don’t care what the society will say, I will fight back!” she said.
Juliana’s story mirrors that of many women in Kano who suffer abuse in silence, trapped between culture, stigma, and the cost of seeking justice.
Human Rights Commission Vows to Fight Back
Shehu Abdullahi, the Kano State Coordinator for the National Human Rights Commission, told Stallion Times that the commission will facilitate a medical evaluation for Juliana and ensure her case is properly addressed.
“Her husband has been summoned.
“She has been subjected to a lot of gender-based violence and her condition is serious.”
Abdullahi explained that the course of legal action will be determined following the medical assessment of Juliana.
“After medical examination, we will determine if the husband will be prosecuted and what wrath of the law he will face, depends on the gravity of the violence he has meted out on her.
“The man’s failure to provide for his family is also a punishable offense.
“He also abandoned his family responsibilities, and he can be prosecuted for that.
“We will also see that Juliana is introduced to an economically sustainable way to provide for herself and ensure that the man provides child support for her children.”
The latest statistics obtained by Stallion Times from the National Human Rights Commission, Kano State Branch, underscore the persistent challenge of rights violations, particularly those affecting vulnerable groups such as women and children.
Of the 172 complaints received in September 2025, 122 have been addressed while 50 remain under review, reflecting the commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure justice and accountability.
The data further highlight the prevalence of family abandonment, domestic violence, and economic and cultural rights violations.
This emphasizes the urgent need for stronger institutional responses and public awareness to safeguard the rights and dignity of all citizens.
GBV: “Break the silence. End violence.”
