Shila,32, (nickname) poses for a portrait at the Daughters of Charity training center in the town of Mekele, Tigray region, northern Ethiopia, November 02, 2023. Shila was a mother of three who ran a hairdressing salon before Eritrean soldiers invaded their border town. She was kept captive and repeatedly raped for three months; her daughter, then 13, was attacked so badly she needed multiple surgeries to recover. Shila gave birth to a boy from her rapes, but her daughter – who was held separately – does not know that her mother was also attacked. Shila does not know if she will ever be strong enough to tell her daughter the truth.
