How an all-woman unit is tackling elephant poaching in Zimbabwe

‘Akashinga’s strategic approach doesn’t simply provide guns to stop poachers. Instead, we call for community involvement and support,’ the group states. ‘If communities could recognise the benefits of protecting and preserving animals and their habitats, poaching could die out without the need for armed confrontations.’

Advancing female opportunities for leadership, Akashinga marks a significant departure from other anti-poaching groups across Africa where women’s roles are significantly limited and often kept away from the front line.

In the next few years, the group hopes to employ over 1000 women as rangers, with a total workforce scaling to 3000+ across various wilderness landscapes. Not only will this continue to tackle poaching continent-wide, but also bolster education rates, economic development, gender equity, and health and wellbeing within local communities.

Great cause here. Recommend Akashinga Rangers charity. https://t.co/YewT5R24NB

— Marvin Liao (@marvinliao) November 24, 2024

The group’s social media page educates followers on the wildlife it saves and the women doing the work, with regular posts detailing Africa’s endangered species.

This emphasis on macro and micro engagement is what sets Akashinga apart from traditional militarised approaches to conservation. By hiring women from the same regions that poachers often come from, the rangers create a new cycle – one that replaces extraction and destruction with protection and growth.

This model has the potential to become a blueprint for other conservation initiatives. By tying environmental protection directly to community upliftment, Akashinga demonstrates that safeguarding ecosystems cannot be separated from improving human livelihoods. The two are deeply entwined, and both require bold, innovative approaches.

The story of Akashinga is not just a success story about wildlife protection in Zimbabwe. It’s about the reimagining of conservation as something deeply feminist, deeply local, and deeply future-oriented.

Elephant populations, once decimated by poaching, are beginning to recover. Communities once reliant on poaching are finding new sources of income and pride. And women once denied opportunities are standing at the forefront of a movement that is as much about justice as it is about survival.

Akashinga’s name, the Brave Ones, resonates not only with the dangers of facing armed poachers in the wilderness – but also with the bravery of reimagining a different future for both Africa’s wildlife and its women.