Characterization and Social Organization of Machababos from the Discourses of Kidnapped Women

The intensification of the military conflict in Northern Cabo Delgado has attracted the attention of journalists, investigators, security analysts and diplomats. The fact that armed rebels do not give interviews to journalists and researchers results in a great ignorance about their internal dynamics in the occupied areas, and so the world of insurgents is a territory full of mysteries. On the other hand, the abduction of hundreds of young women raises questions about their whereabouts, causing social unrest. The little knowledge of the insurgents' forms of internal organization stems from eyewitness testimonies of those who lived with the group, including defectors or women who have been in captivity.