You're Ordered to Rape Your Sister or Be Shot

Between 2008 and 2011, Nigeria's Abia State witnessed a flourishing of several brutal criminal gangs. Unsurprisingly the victims were predominantly vulnerable ordinary citizens and strangers. As Abia State collapsed into anarchy, the violent perpetrators resorted to increasingly debased tactics to terrorize their victims using rape and forced incest to achieve their objectives.

"You're Ordered to Rape Your Own Sister or Be Shot" tells the story of Mama-Oma and her three children, David, Nma, and Chidi. Raiders shoot Nma dead and then present Mama-Oma with a terrible choice: command her son to rape his own sister or have her two remaining children killed.

David manages to obey the order to violate Chidi, who is then repeatedly gang-raped by her attackers. For the family, the psychological pain is magnified by a conservative tribal culture that ostracizes them afterwards for committing incest taboo, despite the outrageous coercive circumstances. Although David and Chidi survive the attack, they end up paying the ultimate price afterward through suicide.

Through Mama-Oma's pain, anger, and frustration, author Charles Chinwe Nwosu gives a voice to the countless women worldwide who live in fear while hobbled by the shackles of patriarchal tribal mores.