Then the president, Yahya Jammeh, summoned her to Gambia’s Statehouse — for what she thought was a Ramadan event — where, she said, he raped her.

Now, she is speaking out in an exclusive interview with The Times. “Part of what he did was to break me and shut me down,” she said. “I want him to hear me loud and clear. He can’t bury it.”

Ms. Jallow is the first to publicly accuse the president of sexual assault, just as Gambia is in the process of reckoning with his terrible legacy. Mr. Jammeh, who fled to Equatorial Guinea in 2017, did not respond to efforts to reach him.

Background: Mr. Jammeh has been accused of gross violations of human rights. People he deemed enemies were killed, journalists were jailed and tortured, and migrants fleeing the country were gunned down.

Details: Ms. Jallow said she was too scared to tell anyone about what she experienced. She has since fled the country and gained asylum in Canada.