Women sport their national pride at the annual Somaliland Independence Day celebration on May 18 in Hargeisa. Advocates argue that a political quota would give women a greater say in their country's policy-making. Credit: Adrian Leversby/IPS
By: Michele Maresca , Horndiplomat Cotributor
Somaliland stands as a sovereign country whose peace-building and State-building bottom-up processes have been marked by the absence of any external help and legitimisation.
The African State carried out a peculiar procedure in order to settle the disputes within its population through multiple encounters between clans and sub-clans. In this context, the role played out by women was decisive, as their ability to mediate often brought the parties back to the negotiating table.
Since the first Peace Conference of Buroa, in 1991, women’s behind the scenes role has been the key to achieving the parties’ getting back to negotiations in order to reach agreements aimed at overcoming the civil war and building a stable State.
As the country embarked on a journey towards sovereignty and independence through a bottom-up process, women kept leading the peace-building initiatives carried out as to attain both short and long-term goals.
Despite their paramount involvement in the process that led to the declaration of independence and resolution of specific conflicts between clans and sub-clans, they didn’t sit at the negotiating table where key decisions were to be taken.
The legal basis upon which the principle of equality is to be applied is the art.36 of the Somaliland Constitution, which states that “all the rights, freedom and duties laid down in the Constitution are to be enjoyed equally by men and women”, apart from “matters that are specifically ordained in Islamic Sharia”.
As the Somaliland people hereby approved this Chart as the nation’s Constitution, they laid the foundations for a scenario of peace and equality, one where women would factor into with full rights and an open possibility of achieving success in the political arena.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the current scenario, women’s representation at the national and local level is almost absent, even tough there is a growing pressure demanding a substantial shift towards a more egalitarian society.
Ubah Ali: any push for change cannot but involve the youth
In this regard, I had the pleasure of talking with Ubah Ali, a social activist from Somaliland who, in 2020, was listed by the BBC among the world’s most influential 100 women due to her campaigning against injustices.
Ubah outlined a scenario where, “although women have played a pivotal role in strengthening long-lasting peace and state-building efforts, their contributions continue to be overshadowed by male-dominated political structures”.
As she told me, women are also facing two main challenges in their dailylife in Somaliland: low-income jobs and gender-based violence (GBV).
As regards the latter, Ubah committed herself to create an environment where young girls and women may feel empowered. In this regard, in 2018 she co-founded the Solace for Somaliland Girls Foundation with the aim of eradicating FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) through education and empowerment initiatives.
To raise awareness about the inequalities still faced by women within Somaliland, she collaborated with local schools, parents and community-based organisations in what can be deemed as one of the main pillars of her valuable and passionate word towards an egalitarian society. In that sense, any push for change cannot but involve a youth filled with self-consciousness and determination to make a difference.
Whereas they tend to support their male clan leaders in the hope of greater socio-economic and political inclusion, without achieving the desired outcomes, Ubah encourages women to challenge this reality by “signing political agreements with running parties to secure their representation”.
It is not only an issue of equality, but also a matter of strenghtening Somaliland’s status as a sovereign democratic country seeking international recognition.
WOSOMWO: promoting the human rights of minority communities in Somaliland
In order to bring into my report fresh perspectives on the challenges currently faced by minority communities in Somaliland, I had the pleasure of talking with the WOSOMWO (Voice of Somaliland Minority Women Organization) board.
VOSOMWO is a non-governmental and non-profit voluntary organization that was officially launched in 2004 in Hargeisa by some minority women activists and human right defenders from four outcast minority communities (Muse Deriyo, Madhiban, Tumals and Yibirs) and other well-wishers from the majority clans.
It aims to ensure the protection of women’s rights and elimination of traditional based social discriminations and gender-based violence as it struggles for an egalitarian society.
In addition to low-representation in politics, VOSOMWO brings into the discussion another hurdle that women have to surmount in Somaliland: the minority’s lack of accessibility to resources and service opportunities of the country, such as education, health, employment and investments.
The non-profit organization is actively pursuing an agenda aimed at raising awareness about the necessary measures to be undertaken as to achieve the desidered outcomes: rehabilitate infrastructure related to skills of minority women; provide special support to education of minority children; make available basic social services; conduct minority rights advocacy programme through civil society, including elders and media; provide start-up capital to enable minority women to resume the livelihood skills.
VOSOMWO is looking for an increased cooperation with the Somaliland government and other aid agencies so as to strengthen the country’s ability to act in unison to counter the reality faced by minority communities in Somaliland.
Added to the internal struggles, there are the challenges still faced by minority communities with respect to secure funding due to “limited representation in donor agencies and UN decision-making roles”.
In this regard, VOSOMWO made reference to several key barriers for minorities, including: lack of response to funding proposals or calls for interest; limited access to financial resources; a significant gap between minority-led organizations and UN international donors, which restricted opportunities for funding and inclusion in decision-making.
Asma Faysal Ahmed: limits on women’s engagement in peace-related work
In the end, I had the pleasure to talk with the gender specialist Asma Faysal Ahmed, who shared her fresh insights on the women’s role in conflict resolution in Somaliland.
When it comes to this important file, Asma underlined three main activities carried out by women as to attain social peace: “participating in economic development” with the aim of erasing causes of conflict; “socializing future generations” by promoting values of peaceful coexistence; “leading reconciliation processes between clans”, particularly as regards their role within local communities.
Regarding Somaliland’s peace-building initiatives, Asma made reference to several obstacles limiting the role played out by women within this scenario: “traditional attitudes and customs”, “economic constraints” and “poverty”.
As she stressed, an increased political participation as well as a financial independence would be instrumental to women’s empowerment, leading to the strengthening of Somaliland as a whole.
In what can be regarded as a positive step towards an egalitarian society, the House of Representatives announced key social bills aimed at attaining positive outcomes in Somaliland with a focus on two main areas: health and education.
The National Health Bills, the FGM Bill and the Higher Education Act are brilliant cases in point that illustrate the increasing role played out by women and non-governmental organisations towards a fairer and more just society.
