35-year-old Gladys Bulinya lives in a one-roomed thatched hut in the village of Nzoia with 10 of her 12 children - six girls and four boys. Her situation is complicated even further by the fact that her people, the Bukusu, believe that twins carry a divine curse. The purported jinx alleges that if one of the twins does not die, one or both of their parents surely will. This belief caused her family to insist she give her first pair of twins up for adoption following their birth in 1993. Luckily, the two boys were adopted by her boyfriend’s father, who is from a different ethnic group. This incredible stretch of twin births has caused her to be abandoned by two husbands and to be disowned by her family. All this hardship motivated Gladys to undergo sterilization last year, despite the fact that it goes against her religion.
35-year-old Gladys Bulinya lives in a one-roomed thatched hut in the village of Nzoia with 10 of her 12 children - six girls and four boys. Her situation is complicated even further by the fact that her people, the Bukusu, believe that twins carry a divine curse. The purported jinx alleges that if one of the twins does not die, one or both of their parents surely will. This belief caused her family to insist she give her first pair of twins up for adoption following their birth in 1993. Luckily, the two boys were adopted by her boyfriend’s father, who is from a different ethnic group. This incredible stretch of twin births has caused her to be abandoned by two husbands and to be disowned by her family. All this hardship motivated Gladys to undergo sterilization last year, despite the fact that it goes against her religion.
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