Le sort des femmes dans les mines artisanales du Katanga en République démocratique du Congo
ByPar Patience Luyeye
TheLa DemocraticRépublique Republicdémocratique ofdu Congo (DRC)RDC) producesproduit 60%60 of% the world’sdu cobalt anddans morele thanmonde, oneet plus d’un million de tonnes ofde coppercuivre perchaque year.année. Cobalt (also called “blood cobalt”) is essential to the manufacturing of electronic devices. Both copper andLe cobalt are(également minedappelé in"diamant Katangade insang") theest easternindispensable DRC.à Miningla isfabrication and’appareils industryélectroniques. onLe whichcuivre theet majorityle ofcobalt thesont tous deux extraits dans la province du Katanga, dans l’est de la RDC. L’extraction minière est une industrie dont dépend la majeure partie de la population indans thela regionrégion, ismais dependent.de However,graves withviolations thisdes comesdroits widespreadhumains humany rightssont abuses,désormais andassociées, ittouchant particularlyparticulièrement affectsles thevies livesdes offemmes womenet anddes children.enfants.
WhatQuelles arefonctions thesont differentremplies rolespar thatles womenfemmes andet childrenles findenfants themselvesdans in at theles mines?
ThereIls areet severalelles kindsremplissent ofplusieurs rolesrôles thatdans womenles andmines childrende havecobalt. atIl they cobalta des épouses de mineurs et de prospecteurs, certaines accompagnées de leurs enfants; il y a les entrepreneures qui négocient et achètent des minéraux, particulièrement pour les revendre à des investisseurs chinois, libanais et indiens; et enfin les femmes mineuses artisanales – souvent appelées les "purificatrices", car elles passent toute la journée à traiter et laver des kilos de matières premières dans l’eau, qu’elles vendent ensuite à des entreprises minières qui les achètent à très bas prix. Et enfin il y a les enfants, qui descendent dans les mines. There are the women who are the wives of diggers and scouts, some of whom are accompanied by their children; there are women entrepreneurs who negotiate and buy minerals for resale to mostly Chinese, Lebanese and Indians investors; and there are women who do artisanal mining – they are commonly called “purifiers”, because they spend whole days treating and washing kilos of raw materials in water, which they sell to mining companies who buy them at a very low price. Then we have the children who go down into the mines.
WhatÀ sortquels ofgenres hazardsde dodangers theles womenfemmes andet childrenles whoenfants dosont-elles artisanalet miningils face?confrontés dans l’extraction minière artisanale?
They spend hours in the small rivers of the quarries washing the raw materials to sort the ore, a very trying job. They extract ore in an artisanal way. The processing of ore requires protection, because it exposes people to toxins which are harmful to your health. They are obviously exposed to various diseases and health problems, such as birth defects, tuberculosis and a dry cough, because they work without protective equipment.
For lack of means to meet their needs, most of the population of Katanga devote themselves to informal mining. But what is sad is that the children also take part in this mining activity after leaving school. Going down into the mines is a very dangerous job, since the ground can collapse at any time and they risk being trapped. The situation of women and children working in artisanal mines is becoming very worrying. In 2015, UNICEF had to organise conferences and workshops on the issue. Young people engage in prostitution in exchange for access to sites or to negotiate for a few minerals. The women are subjected to rape by the men present in the quarries of the mines, and there is marital sexual violence. Women are marginalised, suffering; it pushes many women to prostitute themselves.
What is the role of international mining companies in this?
Often,Elles whenet investorsils arepassent indes quarries,heures itdans isles afterpetites therivières scoutsdes arecarrières gone.à Theylaver waitles formatières thepremières scoutsafin orde diggerstrier tole discoverminerai. theC’est une tâche absolument épuisante. Le minerai est extrait artisanalement. Ce processus nécessite de se protéger, car il expose les travailleuses à des toxines nocives pour la santé. Les femmes et les enfants sont exposées à diverses maladies et problèmes de santé, tels que les malformations congénitales, la tuberculose et la toux sèche, car personne ne dispose d’équipement de protection individuelle.
Sans autre moyen de satisfaire ses besoins, la population du Katanga travaille majoritairement dans l’extraction informelle. Ce qu’il y a de plus triste encore, c’est que les enfants prennent part à ces activités extractives après l’école. C’est très dangereux de descendre dans les mines, car le sol peut s’affaisser à tout moment et les mineurs risquent d’y rester coincés. La situation des femmes et des enfants qui travaillent dans les mines artisanales devient très inquiétante. En 2015, l’Unicef a dû organiser des conférences et ateliers sur ce thème. Les jeunes pratiquent la prostitution pour pouvoir accéder aux sites ou négocier des minéraux. Les femmes sont violées par les hommes présents dans les carrières, et il y a une forte prévalence de violence conjugale. Les femmes sont marginalisées et elles souffrent, ce qui en incite beaucoup à se prostituer.
Quel est le rôle des sociétés minières internationales dans tout cela?
Les investisseurs sont généralement dans les carrières lorsque les prospecteurs sont partis. Ils attendent que les prospecteurs et les mineurs découvrent un site, thenpour theyensuite appropriatese thel’approprier quarryet anden chasechasser theles diggersmineurs. away.Les Theacheteurs buyers takeprennent possession ofde thela entirecarrière quarry.tout Theentière. diggersLes ormineurs theou scoutsles areprospecteurs calledsont thisappelés becauseainsi, allcar thesetoutes foreignces companiessociétés setétrangères upmettent theirleurs entreprises d’extraction companiessur thankspied togrâce theaux scoutsprospecteurs whoqui detectdétectent thele lieu exact où se trouvent les minéraux. Les escortes militaires arrivent ensuite sur place wherepour mineralsles canen bechasser found.et Afterles this,sociétés militaryétrangères escortsinstallent arriveleur toéquipement drive them away from the site and foreign companies set up their equipment for the d’extraction. AccessL’accès to theaux sites thereforeest becomesensuite controlledcontrôlé, andet prohibitedinterdit toaux peoplepersonnes whoqui arene nottravaillent frompas thepour company.la Butsociété. despiteMalgré this,cela, thereil are still women andy a largequand numbermême ofde childrennombreuses whofemmes worket atbeaucoup thed’enfants qui travaillent dans les mines.
LatelyLe thecontenu copperde contentcuivre hasa fallenrécemment bychuté morede thanplus 30%de 30 %, whichce isqui whyexplique mostpourquoi ofles thecarrières quarriesprisées prizedpar byles internationalinvestisseurs investorsinternationaux done notpermettent allowpas Congoleseà nationalsla topopulation accesscongolaise miningd’accéder aux sites –des itmines. gotLa complicated.situation Wes’est askenvenimée. ourselves:Nous whonous ultimatelydemandons benefits: frommais thesequi minerals?profite de ces minéraux, en fin de compte?
WhatPour areen somesavoir solutionsplus tosur theles problemsconditions described?de
Followingtravail andans accidentl’extraction inminière Katanga in 2019, Gécamines, the state-controlled mining company, together with the government set up a structure which will have to regulate the exploitation ofdu cobalt byen takingRDC, into account three conditions: the prohibition of child labour; the prohibition of work for pregnant or underage women; and the requirement to prepare the site on which the artisanal miners will work and to take care of their safety by giving them protective equipment.
But more needs to be done.
There are organisations defending women’s rights in general, but it would be wise for them to be able to defend women who work in mines more specifically. More action is also necessary when it comes to the issue of children working in mining quarries.
National and international organisations or associations need to raise awareness of the issue, especially of the gender-based violence that occurs. Women working at the mines need to be told that rape is against the law, and that they can become sick when they are exposed to toxins when processing the minerals in the river for long days without any adequate protection.
Advocacy is needed when it comes to the government. It has a lot of responsibility to take decisions and to uphold and enforce the laws with international mining companies. International mining companies also need to respect the laws of the country, especially as regards the rights of women and children (there are Congolese laws on child labour). The manufacturers of telephones and other electrical and electronic devices also have a share of responsibilities, because the raw materials for the manufacture of their products come from these mines.
We need to encourage women working in artisanal mines to come together in an association to help with the negotiation for their rights. Their power will be more important if they are in large numbers.
We will also have to think about the post-mining period: today the copper content is declining, and there will be a day when these mining sites will close. What will become of all these people who depend on this activity?
For more on the conditions for mining cobalt in the DRC, watch:visionner:
CFromonsulter Globalles Informationrapports Societysur Watchune 2020,thématique seeconnexe thesede relatedl’Observatoire reports:mondial de la société de l’information 2020:
Big tech goes green(washing): Feminist lenses to unveil new tools in the master’s houses (thematicrapport report)thématique): https://www.giswatch.org/node/6254
Latin America (regionalrapport report)régional): https://www.giswatch.org/node/6247