Does slavery still exist?
Slavery in the 21st century
Contemporary slavery, also known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to exist in present day society. Estimates of the number of slaves today range from around 21 million.[1] to 70 million, depending on method used to estimate and the definition of slavery being used.[2][3]
Slavery in Niger
Anti-Slavery International identifies three different types of slavery practiced in Niger today: chattel slavery, a "milder form" of slavery where former slaves are forced to give some of their crops to a former master, and wahaya a form of concubinage involving the purchase of young girls to do household chores and as sexual servants of their masters. Chattel slavery involves the direct ownership of an individual and there are limited examples of slave buying still occurring in Niger today. More prominent is the second type of slavery, sometimes called "passive slavery", where former slaves retain some tributary and forced labor relationship to former masters. Individual freedoms are still controlled in this form and people can be violently beaten or otherwise punished for disobeying former masters.