Ex-combatant women in Mozambique overcome indifference and marginalization

As DDR* women, we had no other sources of income and could only sit at home until you invited us to this training. I learned what a business is and that I can earn a salary. You cannot imagine my happiness for all this. Wherever we go, we will be an example, and everyone will see and say: those DDR women are prospering!

We collected the testimonies of 70 ex-combatant women included in the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) process, as well as other women involved in the conflict in the central area of Mozambique. These women participated in professional training courses and received kits to support the creation of micro-entrepreneurial activities as part of the project ProPaz, Culture for the Promotion of Peace, Reconciliation, and Social Cohesion. This project is co-financed by the European Union and implemented by CISP, Lemusica, IMD, and IVERCA.

I am very happy because we received technical training that gave us important skills that we didn't have before. Some women in our communities laughed at us and said it was a waste of time because we were too old to participate in training. But now we are happy, and we know that we will return to our communities and do wonderful things!

Ex-combatant women are very vulnerable, exposed to marginalization, indifference, and stigma by their host communities. These women have returned to their villages after spending years away from home and are trying to rebuild relationships and find sources of income to lead a dignified life. Economic support for ex-combatant women is crucial for their effective reintegration into the communities, helping them to overcome both the economic and social marginalization they have suffered. This support contributes to the construction of lasting peace and true national reconciliation in Mozambique.

Through this economic empowerment activity, 70 women were able to start their own economic ventures, becoming independent, redeeming themselves, and proudly and decisively affirming their place within society.

I want to thank the ProPaz Project for giving us the opportunity to have a job, for encouraging us to become small entrepreneurs, and for liberating us from poverty. Finally, I want to appeal to all the beneficiaries, so that we can unite in the fight against poverty, and live in genuine and lasting peace.

*DDR is the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration process of former RENAMO combatants, which began in 2019 following the Maputo Agreements and the Memorandum of Understanding on Military Affairs. It is a long process involving over 5,000 ex-combatants in the provinces of Manica, Sofala, and Tete in central Mozambique.