MANGAREDJIPA, Congo, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Maman Soki is among a small group of Congolese women undertaking heavy mining work for survival after escaping a deadly attack on her village by Islamic State-aligned rebels that killed her daughter and her sister.

In April, the 49-year-old widow left her home in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo with her son, grandson and her sister’s children to flee the Allied Democratic Forces – one of many armed groups in the mineral-rich region.

Soki now works alongside two other women at Pangoyi gold mine, lugging 30 kg sacks of debris up a muddy slope for a few dollars a day to feed the four children in her care.

“Sometimes we want to enter the pits to dig, but we’re told women aren’t allowed,” Soki said in an interview. “That’s why we always carry the already-dug sand for processing.”

A photograph of her lost sibling is among the few reminders of the life Soki left behind.

Soki now cares for her sister’s two small children, as well as her orphaned grandson. Soki’s 12-year-old son Muhindo Obed looks after his three adopted siblings while Soki is at work.

Item 1 of 3 Maman Soki, a Congolese artisanal miner, internally displaced by the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, poses for a photograph after a Reuters interview at an open-pit mine, in Mangaredjipa near Beni, North Kivu Province of Democratic Republic of Congo August 31, 2025. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere

[1/3] Maman Soki, a Congolese artisanal miner, internally displaced by the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, poses for a photograph after a Reuters interview at an open-pit mine, in Mangaredjipa near Beni, North Kivu Province of Democratic Republic of Congo August 31,… Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more

In Congo, mining is traditionally dominated by men, but women are often driven to undertake the back-breaking work to survive.

Women in mining often face discrimination and harassment by male colleagues, and perform lower-paying tasks, according to the national association RENAFEM, a Western-funded group that aims to protect the rights of female workers.

Soki hopes to save enough to open a small food store and leave mining behind, but there is little left over after paying for the children’s food, school fees and expenses.

“We worry for her safety when she goes to Pangoyi,” her son Obed said.

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