Mozambique: in Cabo Delgado, women are privileged prey of the jihadists

Thousands of civilians from Cabo Delgado are displaced in Mozambique due to a jihadist presence.

Alfredo Zuniga AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

4 min

Human Rights Watch denounces practices of kidnapping, enslavement and violence against women committed by jihadists in northern Mozambique.

In a recently published report, the NGO estimates that at least 600 young women and girls have been abducted since 2018 in the province of Cabo Delgado.

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Human Rights Watch describes the modus operandi of the jihadists in their places of operation: when they carry out raids on villages, combatants are pointed out to women and girls over the age of 12 who are not yet married.

Back at the camp, they are separated.

The younger, apparently healthy, lighter-skinned ones are given as wives to the militia, or sold to foreign fighters.

Their value?

From $ 600 to $ 1,800.

The rest of the women are responsible for maintaining the camps and fields, or face ransom demands of up to $ 15,000.

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The report published by Human Rights Watch is based on the testimonies of some 50 people: freed women, members of their families and representatives of the authorities.

The organization also underlines the lack of organization and transparency on the subject on the part of the government, in particular on the care of victims.

Most have had to manage to return to their villages, others refuse to do so for fear of being stigmatized.

The Cabo Delgado has known terrorist attacks since October 2017.

The Shebab group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State organization in April 2018. This conflict has left more than 3,500 dead and 800,000 displaced.

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Interview with Zenaida Machado, author of the report, attached to Maputo.

RFI: How were you able to quantify the number of abducted women?

It is important to mention that the figure of 600 kidnapped women is an estimate, based on what our sources told us and on press information.

But there are other groups in Mozambique who are working on this subject and estimate that there are thousands of victims.

The point is that we do not know what the total number of abducted women is.

The government was not able to give us a figure, or even tell us how many were helped.

So what we can say is that there are at least 600 victims, as a minimum, but that in reality there are more than 600.

Since July, foreign troops, Rwandan in particular, have been deployed to counter the jihadists.

Did this improve the situation?

What I can tell you is that the last kidnapping we recorded was last October in Macomia district, and that it happened long after

have resumed. control of this region.

So that means that there is no protection plan for women against these kidnappings.

The strategy to rescue them is also not very clear.

In addition to this, we must ask ourselves what happens to women once they are released or manage to escape.

Those we spoke to managed to reach their communities on their own, but others did not want to return because they were ashamed and afraid of being stigmatized.

Some had had children of combatants, others were pregnant, and they feared they would not be welcomed into their community.

There is also another group that was rescued by security forces, which has been publicly announced, although the number is unknown.

These people were taken to the Pemba sports hall, but it is not known what their situation is, whether they received medical assistance or psychological treatment for their trauma.

Do you expect more transparency from the authorities on the subject?

Yes, what we want is for them to be more transparent, to put in place mechanisms to protect women, and to support those who have been rescued.

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• Mozambique