Paola Rolletta |

Lurdes António, 68, didn’t have access to formal education in her childhood, like most women in rural Mozambique at that time. She was recruited to the Minga base of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) in 1982, at the age of 26. She underwent military training in Mandie, in the district of Guro, in the province of Manica.

At the height of the civil war, she spent time at five military bases belonging to the guerrillas, producing food in the civilian and military fields and cooking for the company, where she later met her husband, also a former guerrilla.

“My job was to carry the soldiers’ luggage and cook for them on their missions. If they told us we were going somewhere, we just carried their luggage and went on, and once the programme was over – whether it was reconnaissance or an attack – we returned. Then they’d send us home and we’d be called up when there was a new programme,” she says.

Drought and severe famine hit Mozambique at the end of the 1980s, and “terrible suffering” shook her company when she and her husband decided to abandon the war and travel to settle in Nhamadjiua, in the administrative post of Nhampassa, in the district of Barué, Manica province, where they were later demobilised with the end of the war in 1992.

“In 2012 we once again answered ‘the call of the revolution’, summoned by the historic leader Afonso Dhlakama,” who had already been denouncing serious flaws in the implementation of the Rome General Peace Agreement (GPA).

Lurdes António was demobilised again with her husband in 2021, as part of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process of the former Renamo guerrillas in Barué.

Since then she has dedicated herself to farming and has learned new agricultural techniques introduced with the DELPAZ Programme, which is ensuring the economic and social reintegration of all ex-combatants, their families and rural communities affected by the conflict in order to achieve lasting peace in Mozambique.

“DELPAZ has come and is teaching us. We used to grow crops in a rudimentary way, with traditional seeds, and we had a lot of losses, but now we’re using improved agricultural techniques, we use lines for the pits when sowing, and we already have income to educate our children,” she explains, thrilled with her new achievements.

On the day on which International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world, we want to recall the message launched by Amélia Andalusa, from Dunda, Macossa district, in the province of Manica, during the first women’s camp organised by the DELPAZ Programme last November: “Conflict is a trauma for women, in every part of our lives. But now we want to continue to live in peace and we want to be emancipated, to do agriculture, small businesses, raise animals, we also know that there is digital economic emancipation, where we can use our phones to trade”.

This year, in fact, the International Women’s Day 2024 focuses on the crucial theme of ‘Investing in Women: Accelerating Progress’.[i] An opportunity to reflect on the importance of ensuring the rights of women and girls in all spheres of life, recognising that this not only fuels prosperous and just economies, but also helps to preserve a healthy planet for future generations.

The UNWomen report highlights that achieving gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals requires USD 360 billion per year.[ii] However, the focus must not be limited to increasing funding, but also to reforming institutions at all levels so that the promotion of women’s empowerment becomes a political priority and an essential public investment.

To ‘accelerate progress’, UNWomen emphasises the need to ensure women’s access to financial resources, land, information, and technology. [iii]Promoting decent and sustainable employment, recognising the value of women’s care work, combating gender-based violence and promoting women’s participation in all decision-making processes are key actions.

The DELPAZ programme, an EU-funded Mozambican government programme, managed in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and the Austrian cooperation agency (ADA), and implemented by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in the Provinces of Manica and Tete, and ADA in Sofala Province, is committed to translating these principles into concrete actions. Working closely with local institutions, DELPAZ promotes investments in public infrastructure to reduce inequalities in access to resources and improve women’s empowerment.

DELPAZ takes an inclusive approach, working on raising community awareness about peacebuilding, social inclusion and combating gender-based violence. And it does so by starting with voices, points of view, the creation of spaces for women – fundamental elements of women’s agency. DELPAZ is also committed to creating self-employment opportunities through vocational training courses and support for micro-enterprise start-ups, with a focus on women’s economic empowerment.

A tangible example of DELPAZ’s commitment is the Solidarity Camp in the Báruè District, Manica Province, organized in November 2023. This collective practice promotes solidarity, inclusion, and diversity, strengthening the role of women as local actors and building their leadership. Through these camps, women actively participate in decision-making processes, identify vulnerabilities and needs, and build concrete alternatives supported by the programme. Thus, we want to celebrate this 8 March 2024 by sharing the Declaration drafted by the women and men who participated in the Solidarity Camp.

On the day, Amélia Andalusa was very clear: ‘We already have our savings group and we need to raise awareness of other women. That’s why we want more camps like this! They should be organised in all districts, replicated and held in the communities, because that’s how we empower women and also men.”

AICS intensifies its efforts through initiatives focused on women’s access to financial resources, land and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Projects such as ‘Coding Girls’ aim to enhance women’s skills, opening up new opportunities for access to decent jobs in ICTs. Furthermore, initiatives such as ‘As Mulheres do SUSTENTA’ contribute concretely to the promotion of equal participation and leadership of women in rural areas.

The commitment of AICS to the DELPAZ Programme, reflects a holistic and targeted approach to addressing gender inequalities, providing concrete and sustainable solutions to ensure the well-being and empowerment of women in 2024 and beyond.

[i] https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/announcement/2023/12/international-womens-day-2024-invest-in-women-accelerate-progress

[ii] https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/09/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2023

[iii] https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2024/02/five-things-to-accelerate-womens-economic-empowerment

Author Archive: Paola Rolletta

Lurdes, a former combatant who fed a company, now produces to grow her children

Investing in women: accelerating progress