Monday July 12, 2021
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Somali Police Force held a farewell ceremony at Aden International Airport on Monday for its first all-female recruit class that was dispatched to Turkey on Monday for specialized training.
The 49 women will join the Haramcad unit upon their graduation.
Deputy Police Commissioner, Brig. Gen Zakia Hussen - the highest-ranking female police officer in the country - told the particular class of recruits that they could offer unique insights to combat many of the challenges facing Somali women.
"It warms my heart to learn that an entire class of women will join me. I hope that we will be each other's support system. There are a lot of problems that Somali women face in our society - from rape, kidnapping and forced marriages - Somali women will be able to sleep well at night knowing that there is an entire unit of females that can support them."
Somali Police Commissioner, Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hijar, told the female recruits that they were joining a new team and urged them to get to know each other well during training.
Hijar said the recruits were selected based on their performance at the General Kahiye Police Academy.
All-female military of police units are becoming more common. Several nations, including the Philippines, Israel, Jordan, China and New Zealand, have incorporated all-female units into their security sector.