Alice Mabota

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Alice Mabota in conversation with Douglas Griffiths , US Ambassador to Mozambique from 2012 to 2016

Maria Alice Mabota (born April 8, 1949 in Lourenço Marques , Portuguese East Africa ) is a Mozambican human rights activist and chairwoman of the Mozambican Human Rights League .

Life

youth

Maria Alice Mabota was born in the spring of 1949 in the Missão José mission station , now the Geral José Macamo Hospital . Usually, families with so-called “indigenous” status - as was the case with the Mabota family - did not register children immediately at birth. For this reason, their age was estimated by comparing their physiognomy with other children.

Mabota lived temporarily with her father in Machava 15 . Mabota attended the first elementary school at the Missão de São Roque mission station in Matutuíne , about 100 kilometers from the capital. There, however - as was usual for Mozambicans with “indigenous” status at the time - she could only complete primary school. At times she also lived with her uncle on the opposite side of the capital, in Catembe . It was there that Mabota was baptized in 1966.

Promotion and further education

In 1967/68 Mabota's mother came from the South African underground, where she was reported to have worked for the Mozambican liberation front FRELIMO . Mabota's mother insisted that her daughter continue her education. She then attended secondary school in the evening and worked as a cleaner in various facilities during the day.

In 1973 she began to work at the Instituto de Investigação Agronómica of the colonial agricultural authority (or later Ministry of Agriculture), but ended this work in 1980 due to personal differences. She turned down a job offer from the Mozambican secret service, Serviços de Informação e Segurança do Estado (SISE).

She finished her seventh grade at Francisco Manyanga Secondary School and her ninth grade at Josina Machel Secondary School in central Maputo. Thereupon she obtained her admission to the course, but could not bring herself to study medicine - since, according to her own statement, she could not see any carcasses - or international relations - because she could neither speak English nor French. She then gave Portuguese lessons at the Francisco Manyanga Secondary School at the time David Simango was the head of the school. Later she worked in the Patrocínio e Assistência Jurídica (IPAJ) as well as in the state real estate administration Administração do Parque Imobiliário do Estado (APIE).

Founding of the Human Rights League

A major change in Mabota's life brought about a visit to a Vienna conference on human rights in 1993, where she stayed for 45 days. This motivated her to be very committed to human rights in Mozambique. Back from Vienna in 1995 she founded the Liga dos Direitos Humanos de Moçambique together with other activists and intellectuals from Mozambique , in German "Human Rights League ", based on the Guinea-Bissau model.

Since then, Alice Mabota has been chairman of the Human Rights League and has established herself as one of the most prominent voices in Mozambican civil society. In the 2010s in particular, she criticized the increasing polarization of Mozambican politics between FRELIMO and RENAMO . The Human Rights League, together with other Mozambican civil society organizations, organized several marches for peace, equality and against corruption in the Mozambican capital. In the course of this, she received numerous death threats and public abuse, which are attributed to the radical FRELIMO wing. The Mozambican criminal police have also interrogated her because they were accused of insulting the president .

In 2010 Mabota received the International Women of Courage Award sponsored by the US government .

In 2014, Mabota temporarily considered running for the presidential election, but ultimately withdrew.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Traditionally also Mavota or Mahota, different depending on the transcription.
  2. ↑ The website of the US Department of State does not state this as the award winner, however, numerous (independent) sources report on the award ceremony in the US Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Emildo Sambo: “Temos de alcançar a independência em prol das futuras gerações”, Alice Mabota. In: A Verdade. March 10, 2015, accessed September 2, 2016 (Portuguese).
  2. ^ The Status of Human Rights Organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa Mozambique. In: hrlibrary.umn.edu. Retrieved September 2, 2016 .
  3. ↑ I have a right to | BBC World Service. In: www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved September 2, 2016 .
  4. ↑ QUEM É ARMANDO GUEBUZA. In: Jornal Domingo. October 13, 2013, accessed September 2, 2016 (Portuguese).
  5. ↑ José dos Remédios: Alice Mabota diz que sofre ameaça para abortar marcha do próximo sábado. In: O País. June 15, 2016, Retrieved September 2, 2016 (Portuguese).
  6. ^ Leonel Matias: Polícia de Moçambique interroga ativista Alice Mabota. In: Deutsche Welle. January 16, 2014, accessed September 2, 2016 (Portuguese).
  7. ↑ MOZAMBIQUE: Alice Mabota Wins 2010 International Women of Courage Award. February 3, 2015, accessed September 2, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Alice Mabota é a mulher mais corajosa de Moçambique. In: O País. May 4, 2010, accessed September 2, 2016 (Portuguese).
  9. ↑ Alice Mabota admite candidatar-se à presidência de Moçambique | Portal de Angola. In: Portal de Angola. January 23, 2014, accessed September 2, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Mabota, Alice
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mabota, Maria Alice
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mozambican human rights activist and chair of the Mozambican Human Rights League
DATE OF BIRTH April 8, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Lourenço Marques , Portuguese East Africa