WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY: SOMALIA

UNIFEM WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: SOMALIA

“We have decided that we will do anything to bring pressure to bear on the leaders to accept a unified administration for Banadir Region and to restore peace and stability […] This city has suffered more than anywhere else in Somalia, and it is the women who bear the brunt of the problems. We are the mothers, sisters and the wives who have to care for the family after our men are killed or maimed. We are more hopeful than before, but we are not there yet […] We are calling on them to set up this administration before the Mbagathi [peace] talks [being held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi] end […] We have decided to put our differences aside and work for the common good.

Sharifo Adow, peace activist, June 2003

"The Somali society is organized according to clans and sub-clans and women are not considered full members of clans. Therefore, women are excluded from forums where decisions to make war are taken. However, they are the ones who suffer most in conflict situations [...] The same clan structure also denies Somali women the ability to join forums where peace agreements are negotiated or political structures and policies are discussed and formulated.

Despite these obstacles, Somali women have taken initiatives to restore peace and security in their communities and involve themselves in national reconciliation transcending artificial boundaries created by the formal political system that tend to exclude them [...] Somali women living in the Diaspora also contributed significantly for the same purpose of catering for peace and security. The majority of Somali families were and are supported by their daughters, nieces and sisters who sent them a monthly income that enabled many to repair their shattered lives and avert further violence which could have been the case if it were not for that economic support [...] As Somalia remains at the brink of a more formalized peace and governance process, it is absolutely essential that women be recognized for the critical roles they have played in steering the country in the direction of peace and that they be supported and empowered to work alongside their male colleagues as Somalia embarks on social, political, and economic reconstruction."

Faiza Jama Mohamed, Equality Now, 23 March 2000