Violeta Mongi is a Congolese international human rights defender, known widely for her work in defending violations of human rights, including violent crimes against the rule of law and indigenous peoples. She was born and raised in eastern Congo, previously known as the “New Belgian Republic”, before moving to Kigali, the capital of eastern Congo. During her early years in Congo, she was married and divorced three times, each ending in separation alone. She presently is involved in human rights defense against impunity, discrimination, and racism in different parts of Congo, including Dongo, Nyungwe, Kasai, and Bambuhu communities. As an advocate and lawyer, Violeta seeks to empower the Congolese people through public awareness on human rights, as well as ensuring that justice is meted out in cases of alleged perpetrators of serious violations of human rights.
Violeta was born in Zaire, a French speaking nation, and is of the ethnic Dyanphurian nationality. She was married to Moroccan national Kamal Islam at age eighteen in France, according to records, and later in Tanzania, where her marriage was recognized as a true marriage by the nation’s courts. She subsequently returned to Zaire to live with her husband, where she was subjected to forced marriage. After her husband was killed during the civil war, she lived in France for several years, working in the French consulate, and later in Zaire, where she pursued a degree in education and took up nursing in a hospital.
The Congolese government recognizes only two nationalities when it comes to marital status: Dyanphurian and Mboziri. Though Violeta was not familiar with these terms before marrying someone outside of her nationalities, she is unsure about their meaning. “I don’t think the term Dyanphurian is used anymore by any Congolese. Maybe they just want to call us Mbonchens [Mozambicans] by our government’s name,” she said.