Mozambique: Muslim group wants protection for women after member kidnapped

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Mozambique: Muslim group wants protection for women after member kidnapped

12:02 CAT | 22 May 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: OFI- Organização Feminina Islâmica]

The Maputo-based Islamic Women’s Organisation on Friday called for protection for women against kidnappings in Mozambique, in a reaction to the kidnapping of one of its members on Tuesday, a statement received by Lusa said.

“Attitudes and crimes of this nature cannot and should not go unpunished. We are women, we want protection, we want peace and dignity, we want to study, work and walk freely without fear,” said the organisation in a joint statement with the Muslim community of Mozambique.

At issue is the kidnapping of a 47-year-old businesswoman, on Tuesday, in the centre of the Mozambican capital, outside her firm.

According to the statement, the kidnapped woman, of Indian descent, is a member of the Islamic Women’s Organisation.

READ: Update: Kidnapping of Sheinaz Gani, owner of Fábrica de Confecções Sabina – Watch

The associations repudiate all crimes of violence and kidnappings that have affected Mozambican families, noting that there is “total insecurity” in the country, a situation that affects the well-being, mental health and education of women and children.

“In a rule of law or in any society, crimes of this nature should be vigorously combated, especially when committed against women,” the statement said.

The Muslim community and the women’s organisation expressed solidarity with the families affected by the crimes, calling for “due measures to be taken to return peace and security” to Mozambicans.

The kidnapping took place a few days after the Mozambican prime minister, Adriano Maleiane, went to parliament to announce advances in the training of an anti-kidnapping unit to stem the wave of kidnappings that in recent years have targeted businesspeople or their families.

Maleiane said that since 2021, the country had recorded 28 cases of kidnapping, of which “15 cases have been fully clarified.

In the annual assessment of crime in the country, the Attorney General of the Republic, Beatriz Buchili, has warned about the involvement of members of the authorities in criminal networks.

Source: Lusa