After four years of complete darkness, Nadia and Zana could finally see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Zana urged her mother to contact the media and make their story an issue. This was the theft of all thefts, the rape of all rapes, and not "just another kidnapping".

Then in 1986, Zana fell pregnant, and Nadia for the second time. In May Zana gave birth to a son, Marcus, and Nadia delivered a daughter, Tina, who would suffer genital mutilation four days after her birth. The sanitary conditions in Nadia's "house" were worsening, and her health deteriorated. The laceration from the birth, inflicted with the same rusty blade as before, was a long time healing.

After seven years in their mountaintop prison, their mother finally found the girls, having received no help from their father or any Yemeni authorities. She brought with her two British journalists posing as relief workers. For the time being, there was not much they could do for the girls, but the photos they took and the subsequent story they ran created a lot of pressure and embarrassment for the British and Yemeni governments.

As a result, the Head of Police in Taiz arranged for the two sisters to come and stay with him, minus their "husbands" and children, and tell him their story. He was a fair and kind man, but did his utmost to change their minds about going home to England, and to stop the publicity. They were to stay with him for several days, and their children were to join them later. The girls thought the nightmare was coming to an end.

Days turned into weeks, and then into months. The "husbands" came with the children to join their "wives" in Taiz and the two families were crammed into one small, dingy apartment. Dingy, but a far cry from village life in Moqbana. And while it seemed that everyone in Yemen was trying to convince them to stay there and be happy with their lot, they could think of only one solution : going home to England where they belonged.

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