The Colour of Rape

ISBN-13: 9781508856016 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 140 str.

Mrs Riette Hugo

Opis

This novel is based on fact, but much had to be imagined as there are no records available. What were the chances of a young, pre-pubescent Afrikaans girl from Oudtshoorn, moving in with an Indian family during the South African War (1899 to 1902)? What were the chances of a girl of that age meeting and marrying a man more than double her age and falling in love with him? None, whatsoever. But there are photographs which have kindly been made available by Ebrahim Bahroodien. As child trafficking and slavery is still a problem in the modern day and age, it is highly likely that she was sold by her father. The title is not meant to shock but to remind us that girls are abused in many ways, not just by physical rape. If any money is ever generated by this book, I would like to donate some of the proceeds to the girls of this continent who are still being given a raw deal. I have also used my imagination to get rid of her father: by 'borrowing' from a true murder story I was told by my late father-in-law, Brigadier P J Hugo. He showed me the exhibits from a particularly gruesome murder and they have haunted me ever since.