Somali women groups: Strengthening sisterhood

Liban Obsiye
Wednesday, October 09, 2013

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Women’s rights are a global issue today and across the world gender inequality will stubbornly persist past the 2015 Millennium Development Goals deadline. This is not pessimism but a simple global fact that only a small handful of countries can contest. Women often are the poorest and most marginalised in the vast majority of developing nations and without legal, social and economic protection and State intervention there can be no hope of eradicating poverty among the worst affected in the world.

Women and girls account for just over half of the world’s entire population yet their share of wealth, power and education is negligible. This is a great tragedy for developing nations. Where women have been given access to education and their social, political and economic rights enshrined in law and properly enforced, they have proven to be an irreplaceable genuine asset. In the developed world they outnumber men in most courses at universities and contribute to the national economic productivity and growth as well as enhance other women’s domestic role and political participation. Although equality challenges do still exist for women in countries like America, Great Britain and France, their overall position has significantly improved over the decades and they are at least equal before the law.

In many developing nations like India and China boys are still preferred to girls as they are seen as carrying on the family name and economically more likely to support their elderly relatives in the future. However misguided this view and despite some changes in attitudes occurring through education and better opportunities for women in these countries, it is still prevalent. Africa is a strange place for gender equality campaigners as they find it hard to understand the many contradictions in the topic. In West African states such as Nigeria Women Goddesses are still worshipped but their mortal counterparts are sold by people traffickers or sacrificed in formal education in favour of their brothers. However, when it comes to offering support and care to their parents it is they who volunteer first. What is evident whenever one meets an African woman is their spirit, love, intelligence and resilience. In spite of all the difficulties and discrimination they face as a result of a gender they cannot influence or change, African women are the ones on the dirty side roads, shopping centres and at home protecting and driving forward their families economic and social interests.

In the Somali tradition which is heavily influenced by the nationally dominant Islamic religion, women were and to some extent are still seen as been equal but different. This is a complex idea that the Somali people have adapted to suit themselves and although from the outside it may seem an explanation for oppression and sexual discrimination, it is one which privately most Somali women agree with and rarely challenge. Somali society has always valued its womenfolk. They have always been the backbone of society and although many are proud mothers and wives they have always enjoyed visibility in public life. Somali women were never restricted from working, education and are not second best to boys. In fact in today’s Somalia more women arguably, in the absence of reliable data, are entering universities than men. Many more are successful business managers and owners, teachers, doctors and work with international NGOs. The self-declared independent state of Somaliland’s prosecutor’s office has more female prosecutors than men and the key Somali government posts of today such as the Foreign Ministry, Department of Education and now the Central Bank of Somalia are held by high powered and effective Somali women who command respect both at home and abroad.

It cannot be justifiable and responsible to suggest, like in most developing nations, there is full gender inclusivity and equality in terms of employment, wages and education in Somalia today. There are those girls and young women who do fall through the net and are socially, politically, economically and sexually vulnerable. Violence against women (VAW) does exist and it is women who still are responsible for the home. However, VAW is seldom tolerated as a woman is born into a family which is a member of a tribe and this offers her protection from an abusive husband in most instances. It is difficult for a family to standby and remain blind to a daughters suffering and perpetrators are usually deterred by a sense of shame and stigma attached to wife beating in Somali culture. Where VAW is evident in the form of Domestic Violence in its many forms or rape, there are penalties to pay under customary law and women have every right to leave their partner. Rape still carries a death sentence under customary law and even if not enforced, the familial and tribal shame for the perpetrators would ostracise them from society. Where once divorce was taboo and the image of the perfect family prioritised over all else, today’s Somalia is intolerant of abusive men. This enormous social shift is not as a result of legal reforms which do not exist but a cultural change in women and how they perceive themselves. More importantly, because of their own economic advancement and education, most Somali women have secured equality within their own family unit and their views, judgements and decisions are respected.

When the Somali civil war broke out many men were killed and since the violence was sustained by men, the women were mainly left alone to support their families. This role shift in tragic times has shown women that they can achieve and survive on their own merits. A short walk in any Somali city today will bring to light an explosion in female business owners, students and shoppers. Even in insecure, fragmented Mogadishu where the presence of the terrorist group Alshabaab is inescapable women bravely walk the streets, trade and go to school. Unlike Saudi women who cannot drive, some of the best cars in most Somali cities are owned by Somali women. Unlike in Afghanistan and India where child brides are common most families ask their daughters to delay marriage until after the completion of their education. Where in most Gulf States women pressure groups are banned, in Somalia there are many flourishing ones helping to change society for the better by moving key debates forward. In every area of public and private life, the success of Somali women is becoming more visible.

Women’s groups

Women’s rights in Somalia are strengthening and as gender equality is discussed widely in public by government, civil society and the women themselves, it can only get better. Civil Society groups in Somalia have done well to move the debate forward and raise awareness of gender equality. The Somali culture of respecting women and the women’s new found financial independence after the civil war broke out clearly helped immensely but the Somali women’s groups have much to be proud of. They have raised awareness of difficult issues such as VAW in all its forms and encouraged peace building and reconciliation despite been victims themselves of horrendous tribal and sexual violence throughout the civil war. Somali based women’s organisations such as Somali Women’s Development Centre in Mogadishu and the NAGAAD network in Somaliland, which brings 46 separate women’s groups under one umbrella, are now key political players and implementers and well woven into the complicated Somali governance structures. Having met with and spoken to many Somali female activists both working in Somalia and in the Diaspora it is obvious that they are inspired more by their Diaspora sisters than the British suffragettes. The diaspora women have shown their local counterparts what opportunities can be had by living in a place with good governance, law and order and rights for women.

Somali feminists are unlikely to throw themselves under a horse, abandon their societal duties as wives to their husbands, parade around the streets naked in protests or burn their bras. The expressions of modern feminism in Western countries can often be culturally inappropriate for women who hold values other than the Western liberal norm. Most Somali women groups encountered in the course of writing this article have been led by very religious women who were proud of their Islamic faith and wanted this to be visible through their dress. Their feminism is one based on equality of opportunity and the right to be heard in public while still been mothers, wives and home makers as well as high flying business women.

There is no shortage of passion and commitment in Somali Women’s groups within Somalia and it is a tribute to their effort and the international community’s support of their valuable activities that gender equality is improving in Somalia. There is yet much to do in terms of education, advocacy and influencing legislation but these groups must be more effective to achieve the best possible results for the sisters they represent. In an informal chat with a representative from an international Donor State at the London Somali conference in May, it was made clear that both in Somalia and the self-declared independent state of Somaliland as well as Puntland, Women’s groups as engaging as they were are fractured, poorly co-ordinated and face internal and external legitimacy issues. Many the representative argued did not understand what it was they were fighting for and the first thing about Feminism. I kindly reminded the representative that Western Feminism and Somali ideas of it may be culturally different and this is something that is important for Somali women groups to get across to donors. They can still fight for equality, Justice and against Violence whilst cherishing, promoting and living within their cultures.

Somali women’s organisations challenges are many but the pressing one is legitimacy. It is clear that most of the Women Group members and leaders are highly educated and among the elite of Somali society. They are joined in key roles by members of the Diaspora who have relocated to Somalia for employment and business opportunities. This is the same in most of the organisations. As a result there is a worry that the Somali Women’s organisations do not represent the average woman. This is dangerous for funding whether it is from a donor State or direct fundraising from the public and it raises questions about the entire legitimacy of the Somali female led organisations. The best way to tackle this is to diversify membership of all groups to include women from all backgrounds and at every opportunity to bring to society’s attention the voices, stories and plight of the silent women who are living in the shadows. The tragedy of European feminism is that while a lucky few are fighting to get into the corporate boardrooms others are isolated in poverty without a voice to speak for them. Sisterhood requires women’s groups in Somalia represent every woman. This is the only way Somali women can be empowered and the means through which Somali Women groups can grow in influence socially and politically.

Empowering women does not always need money. It needs ideas, commitment, political savvy and a joint up approach to tackling their key concerns holistically. Most policy debates and fractured governance structures can be penetrated if all of these come together. Somali Women’s groups today find themselves at an important cross road where their choices can influence what kind of a future their sisters enjoy today and tomorrow. In an age of global governance and with Somalia’s dependence on aid, Somali women have found a friend in donor nations such as the EU member States, America, Sweden and Denmark which all have female empowerment and full social, economic and political participation at the heart of their support mechanism for the Somali people. Such powerful friends have already ensured 30% of the Somali Parliamentary seats be occupied by women and their continued support will deliver more female Ministers in top government positions in the future. It is for the Somali women’s groups to spread the benefits of these powerful international allies support to every girl and woman and not betray them by keeping it all for themselves and their few connected friends.

This betrayal can as easily come directly from poorly managed advocacy and education campaigns and a lack of creating and nurturing partnerships in an age of infinite communication abilities. There are wider technological tools available for all of the above which can have a global impact. Who would have thought a Facebook picture can inspire the Arab Spring or that Twitter keeps police batons firmly locked away in riots in Egypt today? The majority of Somali women’s groups have interactive websites but this alone is not enough. They need to advance to Twitter and more immediate ways of communicating with their audience at home and abroad. At home more work needs to be done in promoting ICT literacy and technological engagement so that the full fruits of these new tools can be realised in specific issue campaigns, partnership building and awareness raising.

One misconception of many Somali women’s groups operating in Somalia is that democracy automatically empowers. It does not. Democracy merely is a voting system still dominated by tribe in Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland. Even if it was not, like in the West, it would be no more than a vehicle for vested interest to drive forward their own agenda after funding election campaigns of the winning Political group. Women Groups need to fight for visibility and influence in a crowded Somali policy making and buying arena. They are simply one of a thousand groups waiting to be heard above the interests of tribes, international donors, business big wigs and neighbouring states.

Traditionally Somali women are very skilled at organising themselves and this has helped them survive through the ages. It has made them resilient and entrepreneurial. A great example of this is the use of Hagbaad (a saving club) to establish businesses in Somalia and the West. This saving scheme of often modest amounts without interest was used well before Micro Finance took off across the globe and now is used by sexes to fund personal, local and national development through investment in business, education and infrastructure. The Hagbaad is something Women groups in Somali can use to fund major development initiatives in the future and to sustain their activities if they can win the trust of this diverse group and represent all of them effectively together.

Somali women’s groups, like the youth ones, are today the hope that the Somali people have to getting across the views of their most vulnerable. They have made enormous headway and today the social, economic and political visibility of women is in large part due to their hard work. However, they need to start unifying all women, building and sustaining international alliances and educating society about their own contributions so as to increase their membership as well as political impact. Further, it is important that they communicate to donors what kind of feminism they are promoting and not be bullied into driving forward a donor’s agenda at the expense of their culture, their core group needs and their religious convictions which they value highly.

The author welcomes all comments and feedback. If you wish to get in touch, please do so via the below methods.
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@LibanObsiye (Twitter)

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