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Zimbabwe’s women-only rangers fight poachers and poverty

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BY FARAI SHAWN MATIASHE

Sharai Tunhira frowns with focus as she runs through drills with her all-female patrol team – each woman armed and ready for the many men they catch poaching wildlife in their corner of northern Zimbabwe.

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Despite the risks of the job, she says joining the military-style unit has given her the chance to protect the wildlife she loves while also earning a decent livelihood in a rural area where many poor women   struggle to make ends meet.

“Here I am occupied and empowered. I do not depend on a man to survive,” said Tunhira (25) who joined the team in 2021 after years eking out a living as a cleaner and vegetable seller.

The Akashinga unit – aka ‘The Brave Ones’ in the Shona language – says it aims to change the face of conservation as the country’s first armed, all-women anti-poaching unit.

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The unit is a rarity in a sector dominated by men.

One in five African rangers is female, according to a 2016 World Wildlife Fund survey  of 570 rangers, though the continent has a handful of female teams including South Africa’s Black Mambas  and The Lionesses  rangers in Kenya.

Established in 2017 by Damien Mander, an Australian ex-commando, Akashinga has since grown to a total of 200 heavily-armed rangers who patrol eight reserves in the Lower Zambezi Valley under contracts with three district councils.

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Wildlife

Zimbabwe is home to some 80,000 elephants, about a fifth of Africa’s total, conservationists estimate.

Numbers have declined sharply in recent years, mostly due to poaching, illegal hunting and drought.

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The Zambezi Valley, which spans the border with Zambia, is home to thousands of elephants as well as lions and cheetahs.

Military-style units such as Akashinga are controversial.

Some conservationists have said armed rangers using battle tactics have harmed and intimidated local residents in wildlife areas and fail to tackle the root causes of poaching.

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Akashinga is part of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF), a non-profit founded in 2009 by Mander.

The IAPF says the unit focuses on protecting wildlife via community engagement, from improving sanitation to creating jobs.

Mander said IAPF did initially focus on defending the area it protected but such criticism is outdated, with a shift to recognising conservation as a social issue that involves educating and empowering the community.

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“We used to be an organisation that was extremely law enforcement focused … We had helicopters, drones and military hardware,” he said.

“We do not have that now. This is less antagonistic.”

He defended the Akashinga unit’s continued use of semi-automatic and bolt action rifles as there is a real threat of poachers being armed with automatic weapons and the women should be prepared for the worst.

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“For us not to train the rangers, whether men or women, to deal with the threat they will face will be irresponsible. We will be sending them to danger,” he said.

Having women as rangers “generally de-escalates tension”, said Mander, while teams that work in their home communities help foster productive relationships with residents.

The IAPF says since 2017, Akashinga rangers have made more than 300 arrests without firing a shot and helped drive an 80 percent downturn in elephant poaching in the Zambezi Valley, while wildlife sightings are up by almost 400 percent.

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Its figures could not be independently verified but Ability Gandawa, lawmaker for Hurungwe North, which includes the Phundundu Wildlife Park, said animal sightings had increased.

“I am impressed by their solid effort to educate the community not to hunt wildlife,” he said.

“The effort has since made it possible to significantly reduce poaching in my area.”

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Economic benefits

What is not in doubt is the benefit to the women rangers, who include survivors of domestic abuse, child brides, and girls who dropped out of school.

Rangers earn the equivalent of between US$300 and US$1,500 per month, a good salary in a country where teachers earn an average of US$120 per month.

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“I had no idea that I would work in a formal setting as most jobs are for educated people,” said Tunhira, cradling a rifle, describing how her family could not afford for her to finish school.

Margaret Darawanda (24), another ranger and a single mother to a three-year-old daughter, recalled life pre-patrol when she depended on her mother, herself a poor farmer.

“The opportunity of becoming a ranger came when I needed it the most,” she said.

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“I am now able to look after my mother, my child and my community,” she said, her sights now set on university.

Mander said 95 Percent of Akashinga’s rangers come from within 20 kilometres from the area they protect, with their salaries spent locally to the benefit of a wider area.

“We want to be a beacon of progression in the conservation industry,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

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“The idea is for Akashinga to be a stepping stone towards women’s goals and following a career path.”

Domestic abuse

The IAPF aims to grow Akashinga to 1,000 rangers protecting 20 nature reserves by 2026.

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Some said the unit gave them a safe haven after fleeing abuse, and a sense of solidarity as they support each other.

Esther Goboza (22), applied to join the rangers to escape an abusive marriage.

Her husband, in a bid to stop her from becoming a ranger, burnt her national identity card, a requirement for the job application.

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“They gave me the opportunity. My husband even came to the training camp to take me home but I stood my ground,” said Goboza, who is now divorced.

Tracy Mukuni (32), quit her police job to join the unit as a trainer because she wanted to support other working women.

“It was about my passion to help my fellow women to achieve their goals,” said Mukuni, a sergeant instructor who trains rangers in fitness, bush survival skills and ethics.

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“Out there they come face to face with armed poachers who are strong …

“These women need to be brave and skilled to protect wildlife. They also need to look after each other.” – Thomson Reuters Foundation

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National

Coal train in flames: NRZ locomotive damaged in fire incident

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) locomotive suffered significant damage after catching fire while transporting export coal to Zambi. The incident occurred between Kalala and Matetsi sidings, resulting in the explosion of the locomotive’s fuel tanks.

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According to the NRZ press statement on Monday, “A National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotive suffered some damages after it caught fire this afternoon while transporting export coal to Zambia.” Fortunately, the crew members on board managed to escape unharmed.

The NRZ responded swiftly to the incident, dispatching a rescue train with crews to the site. The team successfully extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. However, the locomotive itself sustained considerable damage.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, with investigations currently underway. “Investigations are already underway to establish the cause of the fire and the amount of damage to the locomotive,” the NRZ statement read.

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In the community

Human-wildlife conflict claims 18 lives in Zimbabwe’s first quarter

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has reported a disturbing trend of human-wildlife conflict in the country’s first quarter of 2025. According to the authority, 18 people have lost their lives, and 32 others have been injured in encounters with wildlife.

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ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo revealed that the authority received 579 cases of human-wildlife conflict, which they managed to respond to promptly. The incidents have also resulted in significant livestock losses, with at least 53 cattle and 85 goats killed by wildlife.

The districts most affected by these incidents include Binga, Hwange, Kariba, Chiredzi, Hurungwe, Nyaminyami, and Mbire. ZimParks has been working tirelessly to raise awareness about wildlife behaviors and effective preventive measures in these areas.

In response to the crisis, ZimParks has translocated 129 animals back into protected areas and eliminated 158 animals deemed problematic.

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“We encourage communities to continue reporting incidents to ZimParks Problem Animal Control numbers and local leadership, such as Councillors, Traditional Leaders, and Rural District Council Authorities, to ensure that we preserve lives,” Farawo urged.

The significant increase in livestock losses, with cattle deaths rising from 18 to 53 and goat deaths from 21 to 85 compared to the same period in 2024, highlights the growing challenge of human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe.

ZimParks’ efforts to mitigate the conflict include community initiatives to educate people on managing wildlife encounters effectively.

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Tens of Thousands in Zimbabwe Go Hungry as the Rains — and US Aid — Hold Back

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Tanayeishe Musau eats baobab porridge after school at his home in Mudzi, Zimbabwe, where the dish has become a daily staple amid worsening drought and hunger. Once a simple supplement, baobab porridge is now a primary meal for families like his, following widespread food shortages and the suspension of international aid.

BY LINDA MUJURU

This story was originally published by Global Press Journal.

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Agnes Tauzeni stands on her parched field. She is a mother to two children, and is expecting another. But now, in a time that might otherwise have been joyful, her hopes wither like the struggling crops before her.

 

Three times she’s gambled on the rains; three times the sky has betrayed her. Her first two plantings failed. The soil was too dry to sustain life. Though her third attempt yielded a few weak shoots, they offered little promise of a meaningful harvest. El Niño-driven droughts have disrupted once-reliable rains, leaving Tauzeni’s family and many like hers struggling to feed themselves.

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“I am always hungry,” Tauzeni says.

 

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She worries about the health of her unborn child, based on how little nutrition she consumes herself.

 

Adding to this, food aid, previously funded by the US Agency for International Development, halted suddenly in January. That transformed what was already a struggle into a desperate battle for survival.

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The food aid ended when US President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order that paused nearly all US foreign aid, most of which was administered by USAID. That agency is now all but defunct.

 

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Food aid in Zimbabwe was an ongoing area of funding for USAID. In November 2024, the agency announced $130 million for two seven-year programs, implemented by CARE and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, that would provide food aid and other related support to areas of Zimbabwe most in need. The programs, which stopped, were just part of an ongoing slate of activities designed to help Zimbabwe’s neediest people.

 

About 7.6 million people in Zimbabwe — nearly half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. Of those, nearly 6 million, like Tauzeni, rely on subsistence farming.

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Through the support of organizations with funding from USAID, people previously received cereals, edible seeds, oil and food vouchers.

 

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“A sudden withdrawal can put the entire community in a dire situation,” says Hilton Mbozi, a seed systems and climate change expert.

 

Tauzeni recalls that her community used to receive food supplies such as beans, cooking oil and peanut butter to help combat malnutrition.

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When Tauzeni got married in 2017, her fields promised abundance. Her harvests were plentiful, and her family never lacked food. Now, those memories feel like whispers from another world. The past two agricultural seasons, those harvests have been devastatingly poor.

 

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With an empty granary and dwindling options, Tauzeni’s family survives on the same food every day: baobab porridge in the morning and sadza with wild okra in the evening. But Tauzeniworries whether even this will be on the table in the coming months.

 

“The little maize I have, I got after weeding someone else’s crops, but that won’t take us far,” she says.

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Tauzeni says a 20-kilogram (44-pound) bag of maize costs US$13 in her village, an amount out of reach for her. Her only source of income is farming. When that fails, she has no money at all.

 

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Hunger like Tauzeni experiences is widespread. Some families now eat just once a day.

 

Headman David Musau, leader of Musau village where Tauzenilives, says some people in his village did not plant any seeds this season, fearing losses due to the low rainfall. The government provides food aid inconsistently, usually 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of wheat per person for three months.

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“It’s not enough, but it helps,” he says.

 

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But without any other food aid, survival is at stake, he says. “People will die in the near future.”

 

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