Women's charities urge action after 'horrific case of man who glued his wife's vagina shut'

The 40-year old woman from South Africa said she has been scarred for life and will never be able to have sex again

Women’s charities have urged action after reports of a man abusing his wife by putting super glue on her vagina. (David McHugh)

Women’s charities have urged action after reports of a man abusing his wife by putting super glue on her vagina.

The 40-year-old woman from South Africa said she has been scarred for life and will never be able to have sex again.

The attack allegedly took place two years ago, when the woman’s husband accused her of having an affair with her uncle and attacked her.

“My husband was an abusive man for many years. His abuse spiralled out of control when my uncle dropped me off at our home,” she told the African Eye News Service.

The woman said her husband screamed at her, before threatening to chop off her head with a machete unless she lied down and opened her legs.

She said he then applied superglue to her genitals.

“I looked at him with horror and tears streaming down my face. I do not know what would make a man who loves a woman do that to her,” she said.

Her husband fled after the attack and has not been seen since.

The woman said she feels pain every time she urinates and still fears for her life.

Women’s groups have condemned the "horrific" attack.

Lee Webster, head of policy at Womankind Worldwide, told The Independent:

“This horrific case in South Africa is sadly just one in a long line of reminders that we desperately need to talk about domestic violence. Violence by a husband or partner is not confined to a class, race or country – it is a global problem, affecting 30% of women worldwide. No longer can the world sit back whilst women are beaten, raped and abused in their homes.

"We need to get to the root causes of violence against women and girls – which are fundamentally related to unequal gender norms, power inequalities and dominant ideals of manhood that support violence and control over women. Women’s rights organisations are leading the movement to prevent and reduce violence against women, and they need support.

"We hope that the woman who has experienced this contemptible violence has access to the necessary services and support to recover and rebuild her life.”

Polly Neate, CEO of Women’s Aid, said: “This is a serious incident of domestic violence.

“Unless we recognise domestic violence when we see it, we will never recognise how pervasive it is – in many cultures including our own – or achieve the cultural change needed to understand victims’ experience and respond appropriately to both them and the perpetrators."

In South Africa, a woman is killed by domestic violence on average every eight hours, and the rate of intimate femicide – the killing of women by their partners – is five times higher than the global average.

An estimated 500,000 rape cases take place in the country every year.

Earlier this month, an advert for the Salvation Army in South Africa that used “the dress” to highlight abuse against women triggered massive interest on social media.