Jaime Fernández Ortiz – Aid Worker in Mozambique
While traveling through the villages of the Maua district to meet with their chieftains, I took some photos of the women who inspired me to write this short reflection related to today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Warm regards.
“Today, November 25, we join millions of voices around the world to remember a reality that continues to mark the lives of far too many women: gender-based violence. It is not just an individual problem; it is a global challenge that transcends borders, cultures, and economic levels. It affects girls, young women, and women of all ages, limiting their freedom, their health, their dignity, and their future opportunities.
In Africa, this reality is especially harsh. Forms of physical, psychological, economic, and sexual violence persist, exacerbated by armed conflict, displacement, humanitarian crises, and historical inequalities. In Mozambique, as in many countries in the region, violence against women remains a daily and deeply rooted problem. Many women live in environments where reporting is not easy, where support structures are fragile, and where protection mechanisms still do not reach everyone.
However, here too we find hope. We know—and community experience demonstrates this time and again—that when women have economic autonomy, the risk of experiencing violence decreases dramatically. A woman with an income Women who are self-sufficient, with access to education, and with real opportunities for employment or entrepreneurship, have greater decision-making power, greater independence, more tools to escape abusive relationships, and a stronger voice within their families and communities.
Women’s economic empowerment not only transforms their lives: it transforms society. It reduces vulnerability, strengthens the education of their children, fosters community participation, and breaks cycles of poverty and violence that have sometimes lasted for generations.
On a day like today, we not only remember the gravity of this problem: we reaffirm our commitment to working so that every woman, in Mozambique and throughout the world, lives free from violence. Equality is not a distant ideal: it is a path we build with policies, with education, with respect—and, above all, with real economic opportunities for all.
Today we honor the women who have fought, those who continue to resist, and those who need us to act urgently. Eliminating violence is not just a goal: it is a collective responsibility.
Jaime Fernández Ortiz – Aid Worker in Mozambique
