Toufah

This woman, this book, this message! An amazing read from start to end. I don't hear much of the news, so I do not remember seeing this displayed on our news bulletins. Yet here I am reading a book, about a girl who turned into a woman and created the #Metoo Movement. This book shows what strength Toufah has, yet also what strength she is encouraging other women to have. This was a true story of courage, strength and fight. After reading this book, I am looking forward to hearing other stories from women who have found their voice.

A very interesting book,Toufah tells her story which is horrific in itself but all that happened afterwards shaped her life. I found it sad but informative. What a brave woman.
Thanks to Netgalleyfor the free ARC book for an honest review.

The more I read, the more I liked the book Toufah. She opens with a chapter on the word “allegedly” which is mostly used only in cases of sexual violence, not other crimes.

After being raped by her country’s president, Toufah exiled herself and left The Gambia. Stubborn, she kept the rape a secret. Stubbornness was both her strength and her weakness.

Another word discussed is “rape.” That word does not exist in her native language in The Gambia!
When Toufah did a computer search for Gambia, rape, survivor, she came across only numbers and data. No women’s stories. A computer search of rape in other countries gave faces, names and showed human beings.
Toufah wanted her name used and told. No more secret keeping.

I liked the story she told of the hyena and the rabbit. She also tells why she admired Oprah, another survivor of sexual assault.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Steerforth Press for allowing me to read this book!

This story is a brave account of another woman who survives a harrowing ordeal through no fault of her own but still suffered the repercussions. Forced to run away from her family, community, and country to save herself, Toufah hides out in Canada. When she finds the strength, encouragement, and help she needs, she returns to the Gambia and tells the truth about her rapist, bringing justice for her and other assaulted women.

Rape was a word that didn't even exist in Toufah's language, despite its occurrence throughout the Gambia. Toufah brought it to the forefront as she fought to finally name her accuser, releasing her from the stigma, fear, and disgrace she felt since her rape occurred. Readers can Google her name, finding the headlines of her case splashed across social media. She is a true hero and warrior who stood up against the abuse of women in the Gambia.

Toufah knows she's being followed by the authorities. Resourceful and clever, she manages to escape and, through a network of Gambian citizens who have left the country for various reasons, she is able to throw herself on the mercy of the police in neighbouring Senegal. And they don't know what to do with her, because they get political prisoners, journalists, people who have tried to overthrow the administration, but no one has come to them who has been raped. By the president. When he should have been presenting her with a scholarship. In fact the word "rape" doesn't even exist as a word in the languages of The Gambia, and so she has to either skirt around the issue or be horribly direct.

An amazing, important and inspiring book. Full review on my blog: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2021/10/28/book-review-toufah-jallow-with-kim-pittaway-toufah/

picked this one not knowing what to expect and my heart goes out to Toufah Jallow. She is truly so brave for sharing her story and standing up for herself. She also raised her voice not only for herself but for young girls in Gambia who has gone through a similar ordeal.

Toufah and Kim Pittaway shared her story on how Toufah found the will to escape Gambia after being raped by Yahya Jammeh, the president of Gambia in 2015. She was only nineteen. She kept the rape a secret from her family for their safety. She fled Gambia without saying goodbye and found refuge in Canada. She felt relieved when she arrived in Canada but her relief was short lived as she struggled to start a new life. Toufah shared what life was like for her prior to the rape and what dreams she had for her future. All her dreams were shattered that night but she learnt to pick herself up. At first, she was ashamed to share her story with her friends and family, but she soon realised that is her first step to healing and being stronger.

This is such a powerful and inspirational memoir. It does not only portray Toufah’s strengths but she also showed what a tough journey it was to get there. She showed us her vulnerability and her shortcomings, most importantly she showed us that doing activist work is not as easy and as glamorous as it sounds. You still need to work to pay off your bills. You still have other priorities that could take over your passion. Despite that, Toufah also showed us her determination and resilience to speak up and raise awareness. She talked about how the word ‘rape’ is non-existent in Gambia and how no women has ever stepped up to share their stories until she started her movement.

Toufah’s story is raw and captivating. She managed to raise awareness to the #Metoo movement in Africa and showed us what it is like to be a woman there. This is another account of a brave woman who survived a horrifying experience through no fault of her own but still had to suffer the consequences for.

Thank you Netgalley and Steerforth Press for the arc.

This was definitely such a heartbreaking memoir. This young lady describing what she had to endure as well as her finding the courage and strength to fight back. I hope this young lady is able to continue to heal from the wrong that has been done to her in her past.

I received a copy of the book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review

Toufah is the Author's name as well as the title of the book, and it is important because for Toufah, her name was the opportunity to bring awareness to rape and sexual abuse in a country, The Gambia, which does not have a word for rape in the peoples' native languages nor had a single incidence of reported rape prior to Toufah coming forward. By putting her name and image out there for the world to see she opened the doors for conversation and created an opportunity for other victims and survivors to use her name as a shield or a tool to begin to come forward as well.

Toufah Jallow was a pageant winner in her late teens when she was groomed by the country's president in an attempt to force her into a polygamous marriage. When she refused he raped and sodomized her. Fearing for her life and the life of her family, Toufah quickly and without telling anyone, illegally crossed the border into Senegal and began her life as a refugee. Her eventual destination is Canada, a country where she knows no one but is finally relatively safe from any potential backlash at her decision to refuse the president.

Toufah is definitely a story of rape and a survivor. It is also a story about the challenges refugees face both when leaving their home and family and when arriving in a country that is large, terrifying and hard to understand, even when you speak English and French! It is also a story about political parties and dictators in African countries and the differences between cultures and societies across the world. Finally, it is about family and the lengths people go to to protect and support each other.

While rape is obviously a large part of the background for this story, it is described without being excessively graphic. This may be a trigger warning for some, but adults who have not suffered this kind of trauma should be fine to read this book. It is detailed, interesting covers important topics in a comprehensive and personal way.

I really enjoyed this book and the opportunities it afforded me to understand a culture and country that I was not very familiar with. It also gave me a new understanding and perspective of the refugees and immigrants who enter my country, ready for a new start but also traumatized, lost and often completely alone. Anyone interested in these themes and topics should definitely pick up a copy of this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher (Random House Canada) for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is a powerful feminist read. This is a fascinating memoir and shows the resilience of women. Well written and informative.