Three women who escaped enslavement and sexual abuse by jihadist fighters in northern Mozambique say they are struggling with social stigma and a lack of assistance, even as they try to rebuild their lives and put the suffering they endured behind them.

Hundreds – and possibly thousands – of women and girls have been kidnapped by the group known locally as al-Shabab (“the youth” in Arabic), which began a rebellion in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province in 2017. Many of them have been forcibly married and repeatedly raped in military camps.

“There were different men sleeping with me… and it was not only one person: they would come together and rape you together,” said Amina, who was kept captive from early 2020 until late last year. “Everyone who felt like sleeping with me could.”

Amina, who is 27, said she was rescued by the army while harvesting cassava in a farm near an al-Shabab encampment. She has now reunited with her children and is seeking opportunities to train as a teacher and to counsel youth not to join the militants.

Since escaping the camps, the women said they have received support from community well-wishers, religious networks and civil society groups. However, these local groups have limited means, and some have been targeted by the insurgents because of their work.

“We do not receive enough help, and I cannot help those women to go back home or to [build] a new one,” said a pastor who is supporting dozens of affected women and who asked not to be named. “The current situation is very, very, very sad.”

Due to his support for survivors and advocacy against the violence, the pastor said he has been targeted by al-Shabab. He said two of his nieces were recently abducted and raped, before being released after two days. “It was to send a message to our family,” the pastor said.

Shelia, a 30-year-old former captive, said women had “unity” inside the camps, which helped them survive the abuse and eventually escape. “When somebody was not feeling well and they had a job to do, we helped her so she would not be killed,” Sheila said. “There were a lot of women who were killed when I was there.”

Read the full accounts of the three women – the challenges they are facing and their hopes for the future – in their own words below. Their testimonies have been edited for length and clarity, and their names have been changed. Other identifying details, including the cities where the women are currently living, have been removed.

Amina, 27, was kidnapped by al-Shabab from February 2020 to August 2023. She was separated from her children and only found out they were alive after breaking free. Her life was threatened in the camp and she was repeatedly raped. “You are not a person to us,” fighters told her. Amina moved to a safer city after escaping the militants, but didn’t receive help from the government or army and later fell pregnant. She now wants to return to school and would like to teach youth about the perils of joining the insurgency.

I was with my family members on the day that I was kidnapped. [Fighters] entered [our village] with weapons and I thought they were from the military. I only started to doubt that because of the way they were asking questions.

When one of the leaders of my family said we were doing a ceremony, one of the [fighters] told him that he was not allowed to talk. He was killed with a weapon just after. Then I was sure it was al-Shabab.

Our neighbours ran away when they realised it was al-Shabab, but we couldn’t run. They wanted to close the door of our house, and they started to kidnap women. Ten women of my age and three men [including my husband] were taken.

We were tied with ropes and we could not move. They told us: “If you run, we will kill you and your family, and we are going to cut you with a knife, and take your head off. So you have to accept everything we say.”

I was raped. They took all my clothes off. They started raping me and all of the women there. After raping us, they gave us their jackets and they took us to a base of al-Shabab where there were a lot of people.

Women were not allowed to see men in the camp. They said [the men] needed to be part of al-Shabab to go and kill others. So [my husband] was taken for training and he never came back. From that day until today I do not know what happened to my husband. You see my scar, it is because I was beaten by a belt. I was beaten because I asked where my husband was.

We stayed for three days [initially] without any food. My cousin was taken with me, and she asked [a fighter] if we could have food because we were so hungry. She was not answered and was beaten instead. There were so many al-Shabab fighters. Every week they were bringing new men. There were a lot of women being kidnapped too. Every week men came and women too.

They said: “We told you, you can’t say anything so just obey. If you open your mouth again, you are going to die. There is no food for monkeys and dogs. You are not a person to us”.

After three days staying there without food, there was a meeting with al-Shabab and all the people there. They told us what our job was. When we woke up we had to go to a farm and we had to find cassava.

“After you find cassava you can take it and eat it,” they said. “And there are a lot of fruits in the bush, so you can eat there and not ask us for food. But you’re not going alone and if anything happens there – if you feel like escaping – know that you will die there.”

After that day, there was some cassava porridge every morning. But for us to eat this, we needed to read the Quran first. We had to learn. We had to read and understand before we ate.

There were so many al-Shabab fighters. Every week they were bringing new men. There were a lot of women being kidnapped too. Every week men came and women too. Because there were so many, some of us had to sleep outside.

There were different men sleeping with me. Sometimes it was the bosses who would come in the morning, and in the afternoon the lower ones in the hierarchy would come.

And it is not only one person, they come together and they rape you together. I had no husband there, every man wanted me. I had no right to choose. Everyone who felt like sleeping with me could.

One of the women didn’t accept to be used like that, so they took her and they said: “Your friend is rejecting us, she does not want to do this thing for us. So what we are going to do, you will see it”. They tied her up and they beheaded her in front of us.

I don’t know why they attack people. I never knew what they wanted. They never communicated well when we were there, not even their plans. The only thing they said a lot was: “We would only need the order to kill you and we will.”

After a few years we were allowed to pick up food without them. They thought we were not going to escape. One day like that, we saw a group of people. They said: “Do not move, and raise your hands on top of your heads”. So we did.

It was the Mozambican and Rwandan armies. “Why are you here in the bush in the middle of nowhere,” they asked while our hands were raised. We said we were with al-Shabab, that they had kidnapped us, and that our job was to find food for them.

We were asked to show them where the base is, so we took them there. They then said there were not enough of them to fight al-Shabab, and that they would take us to a safer place and then invite other soldiers.

I was taken to a [military camp] called Mahati. The military treated us very well. They gave us food, drinks, bread, and no one slept with us. We were asked if we wanted to go to one of the big cities of Cabo Delgado that are safe. I answered that I wanted to go to one of them. I chose the city because maybe I could find my husband and my children there.

When I arrived here, though, I didn’t receive any more help from the government or the army. After a month, I discovered that I was not feeling well in my body. The owner of the house took me to the hospital, and I discovered I was pregnant.

I feel bad when I think about the baby because I have two children without a husband and I do not know what to do. But it is not the baby’s fault what happened.

One of the leaders of the community here took me to the pastor José. I was saved by the pastor. He told me that he knew someone who is on their farm a lot and not always here in the city. He said maybe I could stay in that house for free.

I would like to go back to school but I cannot, I stopped at grade two. I do not know how to continue school because of a lack of resources. But, hopefully, God is my refuge, and I believe things will get better.

I feel better, but I never feel really free. When anything is happening outside, I am always tense. When someone knocks on the door, I am afraid. I am always attentive, and I never manage to sleep well.

I never communicated or met any of the other women [from captivity] again. I feel very bad about it. When I came here, whenever I tried to sleep I was dreaming, suffering and urinating in my sleep. I was thinking about how others are still there, and that makes me cry.

But the church helps me a lot. When I am going there, the mothers are hugging me and saying: “Sorry for your story. God will restore your life”. I believe in God. I still believed that God was in control when I had no hope there and was seeing others being killed.

I want to stay here in this city. I want a life for my children and I would like to have the opportunity to take care of other children, to teach them and to counsel them to not [join the insurgents].

• The New Humanitarian report