Former women combatants demand end to stigma linked to being ex-NPAs

Former women combatants demand end to stigma linked to being ex-NPAs

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines ― Former women combatants fight stigma as they struggle to return to normal life and reintegrate into society. This was the common thread among the stories shared by former New People’s Army (NPA) combatants Lourdes Acenas Caculba and Jean Bautista-Mabaga; and Hafida Romato Maute, the sister of Omar Maute, who founded the Islamic State-linked Maute Group that, along with their Abu Sayyaf Group allies, seized sect…