Mozambique celebrated April 7, the national holiday marking Mozambican Women's Day, in a context of increasing cases of violence against women.

In view of the worsening situation, feminist organizations in Sofala province are advocating increased penalties for those who commit violence against women, including early marriages.

In her view, tougher punitive measures could be more effective in discouraging domestic violence, which often culminates in femicide.

The president of the Women's Association for the Promotion of Community Development in Sofala, Ângela Jorge, defends the creation of specific laws on femicide and early unions that penalize offenders in an exemplary manner.

"The law has to look at how children whose mothers have been murdered by their partners will fare. If we have a law that penalizes enough, just by hearing that there is a certain penalty for these crimes, people will probably be able to have respect for the lives of others," she said, quoted by Rádio Moçambique.