Mining becomes a means of subsistence for Congolese women following rebel attacks
Maman Soki, who escaped a terrible attack on her town by rebels affiliated with the Islamic State that killed her daughter and her sister, is one of a few Congolese women who are working hard in the mining industry to survive.
The 49-year-old widow fled the Allied Democratic Forces, one of several armed groups in the mineral-rich area, in April with her son, grandson, and sister’s children from her home in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
To support the four children under her care, Soki now works at the Pangoyi gold mine with two other women, hauling 30-kg bags of garbage up a muddy slope for a few dollars per day.
In an interview, Soki stated, “We’re told women aren’t allowed, but sometimes we want to enter the pits to dig.” “That’s why we always carry the already-dug sand for processing.”
One of the few mementos of the life Soki left behind is a picture of her missing sibling.
Soki now looks after her orphaned grandson and her sister’s two young children. While Soki is at work, his 12-year-old son Muhindo Obed takes care of his three adoptive siblings.
Although men have historically held the majority of mining jobs in Congo, women are frequently compelled to perform the physically taxing labor in order to make ends meet.
According to the national association RENAFEM, a Western-funded organization that works to defend the rights of female workers, women in mining frequently endure harassment and discrimination from their male coworkers and are required to undertake lower-paying jobs.
After paying for the children’s food, school fees, and other expenditures, Soki has little money left over, which she plans to use to build a small food shop and quit mining.
Her son Obed stated, “We are concerned about her safety when she travels to Pangoyi.”
According to UN and local officials, Islamic State-backed militants murdered at least 43 worshippers at a Komanda church in July and at least 52 civilians in the eastern Congo’s Beni and Lubero regions in August.
