The scene is not uncommon in a village in Mozambique: an angry husband grabs his wife. The argument escalates amid the insults, but as he raises his fist, the man is intercepted by two police officers dressed in “capulans”, the traditional fabric of an African country.

The man struggles, grunts and falls to the ground. He receives a flurry of blows with sticks to the applause of the audience.

Women from the Mahnene community during a training on the prevention of violence against women in the province of Manica, Mozambique. Photo: Alfredo Zuniga/AFP/ND

The scene is funny because it’s just an exercise. In fact, violence poisons the daily lives of women in this rural area near Manitsa (Central West).

In Mozambique, about half of women are married before reaching adulthood, according to the UN, 22% are victims of violence, but few report it.

How many here have suffered from domestic violence? The answer is “100%.”

Violence against women is punishable by a 2011 law that is resisted, mostly in rural areas, and the country ranks 127th in the UN Gender Inequality Index.

Faced with this reality, the Maniki community decided to take charge of the situation with the support of the local association Lemusica, which means “Arise, woman, and go your own way.”

The Women’s Police Brigade, originally created to search for women, was transformed into a gender-based violence unit in 2009.

Your mission is to stop the attackers immediately as the police arrive from a city located an hour away on a bumpy road.

“Before, there was a lot of reluctance on the part of men, but after ten years, thanks to conversations, explanations, awareness raising, the violence has decreased,” says Elisa Eduardo, coordinator of the brigade.

– Law of Silence –

Force is rarely used, most conflicts are resolved verbally.

The priority is to educate and support women before prosecution of rapists.

Next to the makeshift prison where the latter are placed, there is a room for the victims, where they can be treated and testify without being noticed or subjected to repression, which was unthinkable until recently.

Silence is the rule in rural areas, and raped women often do not find support in their families when they decide to come forward.

“The result of a patriarchal system that instills in us the idea that women do not have the right to vote or the right to make decisions and that they do not do anything important in life,” condemns Anchia Aniva, president of Lemusica.

The organization, which welcomes children and teenagers to the regional capital of Chimoio, aims for education and emancipation, which is almost impossible in the countryside.

Vasco Filip, an adviser to the local traditional chief, has his own opinion about the mission of policewomen: “It’s good that they can search other women, because they can hide stolen items in places where men cannot search.”

As for violence, “there is, but there is also psychological violence by women against men,” she says.

For an association, dialogue is difficult, but the authority of traditional leaders is inevitable, Anaiva explains.

With feminist discourse, this militancy contrasts with its surroundings. But for city dwellers who see her as a city girl imbued with Western ideas, she reminds that the 2011 law “was not drafted by Lemusica, it was voted by the Assembly.”