In Mozambique, 78.2% of women and girls participate in the labour force, predominantly in agriculture. Women’s and girls’ employment is highly vulnerable: 9.2 out of 10 women and girls are in vulnerable employment. Many people in Mozambique are living below the poverty line, although women and girls are more likely to experience this: 67.9% of women and girls live below the poverty line, compared to 60.9% of men and boys (The World Bank, Gender Data Portal).
Women and girls experience high rates of early marriage in Mozambique: 53% are married by age 18. Early marriage is linked to household poverty for women and girls, cultural norms around marriage and virginity, early pregnancy and lack of education. It also negatively affects women’s and girls’ economic potential. It is estimated that preventing early marriage “could see a 15.6% rise in earnings for women who married early and would generate an additional USD 375 million in earnings and productivity for the country” (Girls Not Brides, Child marriage atlas — Mozambique).
Education rates in Mozambique continue to be below the Sub-Saharan Africa average and show slight disparities between women and girls and men and boys. Primary school completion rates are higher for men and boys (65%) than for women and girls (58%) (The World Bank, Primary Completion Rate). Lower-secondary rates are slightly lower for women and girls (33.1%) than for men and boys (35.2%) (The World Bank, Lower Secondary Completion Rate). Women and girls face specific barriers to achieving an education, including a low cultural value being placed on female education and work, inadequate access to hygiene and WASH resources, gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices (USAID, Advancing Girls' Education).
In addition, approximately one third of 15-year-old girls report having experienced physical violence in an educational context, including being subjected to physical violence on the way to school and sexual abuse in school by students and teachers. Early marriage and pregnancy also contribute to women’s and girls’ low education rates, as women and girls lack access to sex education and are exposed to and pressured by social norms around bearing children that can lead to their dropping out of school.
With its large coastal regions, Mozambique is prone to floods, storms, droughts and landslides, all of which are exacerbated by climate change (The World Bank, Climate Change Knowledge Portal: Vulnerability). Climate change threatens to change average minimum and maximum temperatures and increase the intensity of rainfalls, which in turn will lead to rising sea levels and increased droughts and floods. Smallholder farmers make up a large percentage of the population, so climate change and climate-related disasters greatly impact food production and household security. It is estimated that climate change could lead to decreases in major food crop productions, such as maize, by 11% (USAID, Climate Risk Profile Mozambique).
Cyclones are a long-established fact of life along the coast of Mozambique, particularly between October and April. Over half of the population lives in low-lying coastal areas that are susceptible to natural disasters and storm-related conditions, such as strong winds, storm surges and heavy rainfalls. Cyclones cause significant damage to infrastructure, disrupt water sanitation, degrade the coastal environment and create food insecurity (USAID, Climate Risk Profile Mozambique).
Drought also affects Mozambique, particularly in the central and southern regions, and it is becoming more frequent with climate-related shifts in rainfall and El Niño events. The drought in 2015–2016 was one of Mozambique’s worst and it reduced food availability by 15%. Drought also reduces both food production and the availability of grazing land and increases both disease outbreaks and the number of deaths (USAID, Climate Risk Profile Mozambique).
Women and girls are one of the most vulnerable groups in the context of climate change. Climate disasters place further stress on women and girls by increasing “food insecurity, poverty and gender-based violence, and increasing their dependency on male partners, family and landowners for their livelihoods” (Ministry of the Coordination of Environmental Affairs, NAPA). In the face of storms, drought and other climate disasters, women and girls bear the greater burden as they have to secure food, fuel and water for their households while facing a lack of access to sanitation and healthcare systems and greater financial insecurity.
According to the 2017 census, 2.6% of the population in Mozambique live with a disability (International Organization for Migration, Disability and Inclusion Survey). A 2009 household survey found that common disabilities included amputated limbs, impaired hearing or sight, paralysis and intellectual disabilities (SINTEF, Living Conditions among People with Disabilities in Mozambique).
Persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls, face challenges in accessing education. In a 2009 household survey of persons with disabilities, 94% reported needing educational services and 92% reported needing vocational training, but neither group could access the services they needed. Persons with disabilities who want to attend educational institutions face a twofold barrier: inadequate accessibility of classroom spaces and a lack of teachers with the skills to provide specialised instruction (SINTEF, Living Conditions among People with Disabilities in Mozambique).
Persons with disabilities also face discrimination in accessing jobs and income-generating activities. It is estimated that “between 2013 and 2015 46,200 jobs were created in Mozambique, of which just 1,576 were assigned to people with some kind of disability.” A 2009 study by SINTEF showed that 51% of survey participants with a disability had never been employed. Reported barriers to employment included functional limitations, lack of accessible work and, when work was found, retrenchment or loss of work due to economic changes. Cultural norms around disability contribute to a lack of family and community support for inclusion in education and employment (SINTEF, Living Conditions among People with Disabilities in Mozambique).
Persons with disabilities in Mozambique do not have equal access to health and safety services. In their various communities, they face barriers to accessing “distribution points, WASH facilities, markets, schools, employment, shelter and health care as well as to participate in cultural activities.” They also face barriers relating to physical movement — for example, spaces like schools and hospitals do not have the appropriate infrastructure to accommodate their particular needs. In addition, persons with disabilities face threats to their physical safety. People with albinism are particularly vulnerable to verbal and physical violence, trafficking and murder (International Organization for Migration, IOM’s Work on Disability).
