Black Brazilian Woman Rescued After Spending 38 Years in Slave Labor for a University Professor’s Family
Black Brazilian Woman Rescued After Spending 38 Years in Slave Labor for a University Professor’s Family
Atlanta Back Star
A Brazilian maid who reportedly spent nearly 40 years in servitude was finally rescued from her captors late last month.
The woman, now 46, was just 8-years old when her destitute mother handed her over to Dalton Cesar Milagres Rigueira, a professor at Patos de Minas University, otherwise known as UNIPAM, authorities say.
Rigueira’s mother raised the young child, and she’s spent the past 38 years working for the family without pay or any time off. She was relegated to a life of cleaning and even forced into marriage.
A Brazilian maid who reportedly spent nearly 40 years in servitude was finally rescued from her captors late last month.
The woman, now 46, was just 8 years old when her destitute mother handed her over to Dalton Cesar Milagres Rigueira, a professor at Patos de Minas University, otherwise known as UNIPAM, authorities say.
Rigueira’s mother raised the young child, and she’s spent the past 38 years working for the family without pay or any time off. She was relegated to a life of cleaning and even forced into marriage.
Brazilian news site Fantastico broke the news on Dec. 20 and identified the woman as Madelena Gordiano. According to the reports, she is a Black woman. During her captivity, Gordiano was granted limited freedoms and remained under constant watch by the family.
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Professor and family face up to eight years in prison for their treatment of woman given to them as a child
Brazillian officials say domestic servitude is difficult to tackle. Photograph: FG Trade/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Brazillian officials say domestic servitude is difficult to tackle. Photograph: FG Trade/Getty Images/iStockphoto
ReutersinRiodeJaneiro
Mon 21 Dec 2020 16.30 EST
Last modified on Mon 21 Dec 2020 16.44 EST
A Brazilian woman enslaved as a maid from the age of eight for almost four decades and forced into marriage has been rescued in a rare crackdown on domestic slavery.