On Black Sisters’ Street (2009) by Nigerian-born Belgian writer Chika Unigwe tells the gripping and tragic story of four African women—Sisi, Efe, Ama, and Joyce—trafficked to Antwerp, Belgium, by a man named Dele and forced into prostitution to repay a 30,000-euro debt. Living together on Zwartezusterstraat in the city’s red-light district, their guarded lives unravel after the mysterious murder of Sisi. The novel alternates between present-day Antwerp and flashbacks revealing each woman's past—Sisi’s struggle with unemployment in Lagos, Efe’s teenage pregnancy and abandonment, Ama’s childhood sexual abuse by her stepfather, and Joyce’s trauma during the Sudanese civil war. As the women bond over their grief, secrets surface, and the truth behind Sisi’s death—ordered by Dele and executed by an associate—shatters what little safety they believed they had. Through powerful storytelling, Unigwe illuminates themes of exploitation, resilience, and the search for identity and belonging.
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