When Maya was 7, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. When he was brought to trial, Maya was forced to testify. Several days later, the man was kicked to death, an apparent victim of the wrath of Maya's uncles. Thinking her words had killed him, she stopped talking.

She also has said she felt guilty for lying in her testimony about a previous sexual assault by the same man, who had threatened to kill her brother if she revealed the molestation.