Hiiraan Online
Saturday, June 25, 2016
From left: Khadra Bashir Ali, former minister of Higher Education and Hawa Hassan Mohamed
MOGADISHU (HOL) – Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke fired two female ministers and appointed their successors yesterday night.
No reason was given for the dismissal of the two ministers which was announced in a decree issued by the Prime Minister on Friday.
Abdulkadir Abdi Hashi has been appointed as the new Minister of Education, while Mohamed Haji AbdiNur takes over the portfolio of the Ministry of Health. Both of the newly appointed ministers are members of the Somali Federal Parliament.
The Ministerial reshuffle came as a shock to many as it was thought unlikely that the Prime Minister would undertake a reshuffle given that national elections are planned only a few months from now.
Women groups are critical of the dismissal of the two female ministers who were as their male replacements only widen the gender gap.
“There is only one female Minister left now and this is wrong,” said Nura Ahmed, a gender activists in Mogadishu. “This is unfair and bad for Somalia.”
“It is funny that a Gender taskforce was set up to champion the women’s cause during the elections to get 30% of parliamentary seats but yesterday’s actions shows that there is a real challenge ahead,” said Mushtaaq Jama, a student at Benadir University.
Although members of the Prime Minister’s office declined HOL interview requests and refused to release a statement detailing the Prime Minister’s decision to replace the two female ministers, a confidential source close to the Prime Minister informed HOL that the former minister of Education is sick and is focusing on getting better in the USA while the minister of Health was sacked at the request of the leader of the South West Regional State Sharif Hassan.