Zimbabwe’s Women Deminers Sweep Away Fear And Stereotypes

When Zimbabwean deminer Memory Mutepfa digs up a landmine, places it in a pit and blows it up using electronic detonators, she feels pride, not fear.

Mutepfa, 31, belongs to a group of women working to clear mines in eastern Zimbabwe, where the country’s former British colonial rulers laid millions of anti-personnel landmines during the 1970s Liberation War.

A veteran of Zimbabwe’s women deminers, who are employed by the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) humanitarian group, Mutepfa used to lead a team of 10 and she is passionate about the programme.