Mozambique

Citation:

Devor, Camilla Pahle. 2013. “An Analysis of the Coninutation and Expansion of Transnational Organized Crime: The case of Human Trafficking in Mozambique.” Master's Thesis. Stellenbosch University.

Author: Camilla Pahle Devor

Abstract:

In 1992, warring factions in Mozambique put an end to 15 years of violence and instability. By signing the General Peace Accord in Rome, the civil war was officially over, and postconflict reconstruction could begin. The post-conflict state has been struggling with high poverty, weak infrastructure and the burden of returning refugees as well as internally displaced people (IDP’s) in the aftermath of the war. Moreover, in recent years, increasing domestic activity on the part of transnational criminal syndicates has become a major national and regional security dilemma.

In this study, Mozambique, as a post-conflict state has been examined to identify the most important factors that lead to the increase and continuation in transnational crime in terms of human trafficking. Using prevailing state theories and post-conflict theories within the field of Political Science and analyzing Mozambique from the conceptual theoretical lenses of Max Weber, Charles Tilly, Shmuel N. Eistenstadt, and several other scholars, it is argued that there are numerous elements present within the state that have led to an increase in crime. These are first and foremost the (neo) patrimonial features of the state, corrupt state-officials, the state’s pluralist legal-system and a general lack of public trust in the legitimacy of the government.  Incomplete post-conflict reconstruction efforts, resulting in lack of public goods, such as health-care, schooling and jobs along with a culture of exploitation and objectification of women and deep-rooted gender-inequality in Mozambique is argued to provide criminal syndicates with an opportunity to capitalize on organized crimes such as trafficking of humans.

In recent years, positive developments manifest themselves through the international recognition of human trafficking and domestic ratifications of international laws and protocols to combat human trafficking. While Mozambique has ratified “The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children” this study reveals state factors that make the elimination of the crime of human trafficking in Mozambique difficult. The findings of the study are symbolic of a globalized problem. Combating transnational crime does not depend solely on international, regional and domestic cooperation through laws and regulations; it also necessitates increased national efforts in dealing with the root-causes of trafficking and to increase the political and public awareness in the country towards this human rights violation.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Globalization, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, International Law, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Rights, Human Rights, Trafficking, Human Trafficking, Sex Trafficking Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2013

Citation:

Wiegink, Nikkie. 2013. “Why Did the Soldiers Not Go Home? Demobilized Combatants, Family Life, and Witchcraft in Post-War Mozambique.” Antropological Quaterly 86 (1): 107–32.

Author: Nikkie Wiegink

Abstract:

Drawing on the role of witchcraft in relationships between ex-RENAMO combatants and their relatives in central Mozambique, this article suggests a different understanding of reintegration processes of ex-combatants, not merely shaped by their role as perpetrators of violence, but situated in the complexities of social life. It is argued that the reintegration of former combatants in Mozambique was shaped by certain changes within family relations, which were contingent to the war (but not necessarily to war violence), creating an enabling environment for witchcraft dynamics, which influenced former combatants' settlement decisions.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Post-Conflict Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2013

Citation:

Jacobson, Ruth. 2006. “Mozambique and the Construction of Gendered Agency in War.” Women’s Studies International Forum 29 (5): 499–509. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2006.07.007.

Author: Ruth Jacobson

Abstract:

This case study of Mozambique examines the three most recent episodes in the country's history of war and struggle from the perspective of feminist International Relations. It argues that, while there are some grounds for regarding the Mozambican post-conflict transition as ‘successful’, introducing a gendered analysis of security and agency makes this description more problematic. It sets out to capture some of the interfaces between armed conflict at the national and international level, gendered violence and women's agency in Mozambique with field data gathered between the early 1980s and 2004, and also interrogates the notion of a homogenous ‘women's movement.’

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2006

Citation:

Denov, Myriam. 2008. “Girl Soldiers and Human Rights: Lessons from Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda.” International Journal of Human Rights 12 (5): 813–36.

Author: Myriam Denov

Abstract:

The issue of child soldiers has become an issue of global concern. More than 250,000 soldiers under the age of 18 are fighting in conflicts in over 40 countries around the world. While there is ample descriptive evidence of the conditions and factors underlying the rise of child soldiery in the developing world, most of the literature has portrayed this as a uniquely male phenomenon, ultimately neglecting the experiences and perspectives of girls within fighting forces. Drawing upon the findings of three studies funded by the Canadian International Development Agency's Child Protection Research Fund, this paper traces the perspectives and experiences of girls as victims and participants of violence and armed conflict in Angola, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, and Northern Uganda. The three studies collectively reveal three salient themes. First, whether in the heat of conflict or within post-war programming, girls are, for the most part, rendered invisible and marginalised. Second, in spite of this profound invisibility and marginalisation, girls are fundamental to the war machine—their operational contributions are integral and critical to the overall functioning of armed groups. Third, girls in fighting forces contend with overwhelming experiences of victimisation, perpetration, and insecurity. In the aftermath of conflict, girls arguably bear a form of secondary victimisation through socio-economic marginalisation and exclusion, as well as the ongoing threats to their health and personal security.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Child Soldiers, Gender, Girls, Health, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Rights, Human Rights, Security, Human Security, Violence Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Countries: Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Uganda

Year: 2008

Citation:

Chingono, Mark F. 1996. “Women, War and Change: An Ambiguous Legacy.” In The State, Violence and Development: The Political Economy of War in Mozambique, 1975-1992, 209-43. Aldershot, UK: Avebury.

Author: Mark F. Chingono

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Political Economies Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 1996

Citation:

Ager, Alastair, Wendy Ager, and Lynellyn Long. 1995. “The Differential Experience of Mozambican Refugee Women and Men.” Journal of Refugee Studies 8 (3): 265–87.

Authors: Alastair Ager, Wendy Ager, Lynellyn Long

Abstract:

This study examines differences in the experience of Mozambican women and men in refuge in Malawi in late 1990, with particular regard to the differential impact of assistance policies and programmes. Data collection was through a survey of 420 households and intensive qualitative interviews and daily schedule analysis with a representative focal sample of 20 individual refugees. Sample sites spanned both refugee camps and integrated settlement patterns. Data on educational activity indicated that established gender inequalities in schooling were perpetuated in the refugee setting. Programmed vocational training activities had little impact on income generation for either men or women. Whilst incomes were generally very low, the median income for women was zero. Work burden was generally heavier on women. Whilst the health status of men and women was similar, there was evidence of poorer health in female-headed households. Discussion focuses on the inter-relationship between these findings and refugee assistance efforts at the time of the study. In general terms, such assistance had clearly failed to significantly impact the key targets of substantive income generation for women and reduction in female work burden. Indeed, food relief policy and structures for refugee representation appeared to frequently exacerbate existing gender inequalities. Such findings regarding the differential experience of refugee women and men may be of considerable relevance to the planning and management of future refugee assistance programmes. In particular, the goals of increasing time availability for women and increasing support for indigenous action are commended.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Forced Migration, Refugees, Refugee/IDP Camps, Education, Gender, Women, Men, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Health, Households, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Malawi, Mozambique

Year: 1995

Citation:

West, Harry G. 2000. “Girls with Guns: Narrating the Experience of War of Frelimo’s ‘Female Detachment.’” Anthropological Quarterly 73 (4): 180-94.

Author: Harry G. West

Abstract:

This article examines the way in which female guerrillas both appropriated and contributed to the FRELIMO narrative of women's participation in the struggle for Mozambican liberation. The author argues that ideological commitment to the cause was essential to defining the experience of violence for these girls and young women and that, concurrent with their convictions, they felt empowered rather than victimized by the war. The article contributes to an emerging literature suggesting that the culturally-specific meanings given to the social category of youth as well as to experiences of violence are essential to understanding the impact upon Africa's youth of the continent's many armed conflicts.

Keywords: child soldiers, violence, guerrilla war, women's emancipation, ideology, narrative

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, National Liberation Wars, Combatants, Child Soldiers, Female Combatants, Gender, Girls, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2000

Citation:

Igreja, Victor, Béatrice Dias-Lambranca, and Annemiek Richters. 2008. “Gamba Spirits, Gender Relations and Healing in Post-Civil War Gorongosa, Mozambique.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 14 (2): 353-71.

Authors: Victor Igreja, Béatrice Dias-Lambranca, Annemiek Richters

Abstract:

This article describes the ways in which in post-civil war Gorongosa (Central Mozambique), women (and occasionally men) with personal and/or family experiences of extreme suffering are the focalpoint of possession by male, war-related spirits named gamba. However, gamba spirits also create post-war healing in which memory work and gender politics play an essential role. This type ofpost-war healing is demonstrated through a secret, contractual ceremony in which a male living suitor demands permission from a gamba spirit, lodged in the body of a young woman (his deemed wife), to marry that woman. An account of the ceremony is preceded by a description of the conditions that gave rise to the emergence of gamba spirits in central Mozambique, and is followed by an analysis of the meaning of the voice of the spirit and its impact on the relation between the living husband and wife and, more generally, on Gorongosa post-war society. We argue that the performance of gamba spirits contributes to a certain form of moral renewal. In the process, we locate relationships between spirits and hosts within wider systems of meaning in which they arecreated and reproduced, and we reinforce approaches to possession that see it as constituted by ‘apractice and politics of voice’ (Lambek).

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Gender, Women, Men, Health, Trauma, Households, Humanitarian Assistance, Context-Appropriate Response to Trauma, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2008

Citation:

Deacon, Zermarie, and Cris Sullivan. 2010. “An Ecological Examination of Rural Mozambican Women’s Attainment of Postwar Wellbeing.” Journal of Community Psychology 38 (1): 115–30.

Authors: Zermarie Deacon, Cris Sullivan

Abstract:

Women’s experiences of warfare and postwar recovery are qualitatively different from those of men. However, to date, the processes whereby women recover from the gendered impacts of war have not been sufficiently explored. In order to address this gap in the literature and to inform policies and services aimed at women recovering from warfare, a qualitative investigation was conducted of the process whereby women in one rural community in northern Mozambique attained wellbeing in the wake of war. Findings indicate that factors at all levels of the socio- ecological system were significant in supporting women’s attainment of postwar wellbeing.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Post-Conflict Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 2010

Citation:

Honwana, Alcinda. 1997. “Healing for Peace: Traditional Healers and Post-War Reconstruction in Southern Mozambique.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 3 (3): 293–305.

Author: Alcinda Honwana

Abstract:

After a long period of social and material destruction as a consequence of regional destabilisation and civil war, Mozambique has to confront both its material rehabilitation and its social reconstruction. This article analyses the social and cultural impact of the war and discusses strategies for post-war healing and social reconstruction. It examines more particularly the role that traditional practitioners and the family can play in healing the social wounds of the war in rural communities. Bearing in mind that the majority of the population affected by the war is rural, the article suggests that in this context these traditional institutions are essential in bringing back balance, harmony, and social stability. This is so because the philosophy that underlines the practices of these institutions is embedded in the cosmological model that regulates social life, particularly in rural communities.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Health, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 1997