With 85,000 elephants living in Zimbabwe, an all-female anti-poaching army is fighting to save them and other vulnerable species. Most of the members are survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault.
The Akashinga is an all-female army that patrols five former trophy hunting reserves for illegal activities in Zimbabwe. The highly skilled quasi-military troop is a branch of the nonprofit International Anti-Poaching Foundation. Many of the women in this army are survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault. The Akashingas, a word which means "courageous" in the local dialect, consider themselves the guardians of the land. They protect elephants, rhinos and lions from cyanide and snare traps.
As some question sending armed women to reserves to fend off dangerous and violent poachers, Akashinga founder Damien Mander, former Australian Army sniper, is convinced by the results . Since 2017, these women have made hundreds of arrests and contributed to reduce elephant poaching by 80% in the lower Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe.
Akashinga: The Brave Ones, a new documentary by National Geographic by James Cameron and directed by Maria Wilhelm has just been released and highlights their daily life on Youtube. It includes Nyaradzo Auxillia Hoto, 28, who after escaping an abusive marriage in 2017, joined the Akashingas and rose through the ranks to become a sergeant. By joining the Akashinga program, she wished "prove that no work is reserved for men ".
For her part, Petronella Chigumbura, 30, is a single mother. She joined the Akashinga after she divorced in 2016 so she could feed her two young children. She has now become an Assistant Drill Sergeant. “As a woman, I focused on using Akashinga as a tool to fight for a better life. I can now feed my children and pay their school fees. I got the driver's license, this which is a big problem for women in Africa! I am also building a big house for my children. Now I am proud to have my own future in hand. ", she said in an interview with Elle.com.
Petronella Chigumbura explains that many poachers in Zimbabwe choose this path, driven by poverty, hunger and the search for survival. She believes that to protect vulnerable species in Zimbabwe, it is important to"https://www.aufeminin.com/" educating the community about the importance of wildlife and nature" and of "support members of the community with different projects" in order to fight against poverty as well.
Protecting elephants and other wildlife from poachers can be dangerous. According to BBC, more than 1000 rangers have been killed around the world in the past decade by poachers, animals or in accidents. A risk of which the Akashingas are perfectly aware, but these women are committed to protecting the fauna of their country in order to preserve their heritage for future generations.