Married off at 12, Safiya Hussaini could never have imagined that the birth of her fifth child near the end of her third marriage would put her life in danger.

In 2001, in a quiet village in Sokoto State, she found herself at the centre of a legal storm when she was sentenced to death by stoning—buried up to her neck in sand—for alleged adultery. The accusation rested solely on her pregnancy after divorce, even though she insisted the child was conceived through sexual assault. She had no legal representation, no voice in her defence, and no way to fight back.

As news of her case spread, outrage grew. Human rights advocates took up her cause, and with legal representation, her defence argued that the alleged act had occurred before Sharia law was introduced in Sokoto and that pregnancy alone was not proof of adultery. The pressure was relentless, both locally and internationally. On March 25, 2002, the Appeal Court overturned the sentence, and Safiya walked free.

Her case exposed deep flaws in the justice system, igniting debates on legal rights and the treatment of women under Sharia law.