Fausia

Fausia (born ) is the pseudonym used by an indigenous Honduran human rights activist who brought a case before the United Nations in 2024 after being raped and forced to continue with the pregnancy due to Honduras' total ban on abortion.

Personal life Fausia is a member of the Nahua people and was the daughter of a chieftain. At the time of her assault, she was the mother of two children. Fausia's family had lost land to a family and had been engaged in a legal battle over it for several years, which led to her becoming a land rights' activist for indigenous communities in Honduras.

Due to a fear of reprisals, Fausia has not shared her identity publicly. She was threatened that she and her family would be killed if she reported the rape to the police force.

Fausia reported the rape to the police around a month after it occurred. In 2017, the assailants were arrested, but were released after a few months, with investigators stating that there was insufficient evidence. Fausia reached out for support from the Centre for Reproductive Rights and the Centro de Derechos de la Mujer, and following pressure, the investigation was reopened in 2018. In 2024, the attackers were sentenced and given custodial prison sentences. When Fausia sought medical advice at a local hospital, she reported that she was told that if she had an abortion she would be reported, arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison. In April 2024, the Centre for Reproductive Rights and the Centro de Derechos de la Mujer, who had supported Fausia following the rape and had played a role in the reopening of the investigation into the crime, shared that they were supporting Fausia to present the case before the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

The case argued that the Honduran government had violated Fausia's human rights by imposing pregnancy and forced motherhood on her, violating her right to reproductive autonomy. They argued for the UNHRC to issue a directive mandating that Honduras amend its legislative framework and constitution that prohibited abortion in all cases, and for it to instead regulate access to abortion as an essential health service. They also called for reparations to be paid to Fausia.