"Wuxuu abuuray iyagoo lab iyo dhedig ah wuuna barakeeyey iyagii" (Bilowgii 5:2).
THE STATE OF WOMEN IN SOMALIA
Somalia is ranked to be the worst place to be a mother, according to a report titled "State of the World's Mothers" published by Save the Children in 2015 that compared 179 countries regarding maternal health, child mortality, education, and level of women income and political status.
"The most dangerous thing a woman in Somalia can do is to become pregnant. When a woman becomes pregnant, her life is 50-50 because there is no antenatal care at all. There are no hospitals, no healthcare, no nothing. Add to that the rape cases that happen on a daily basis, the female genital mutilation that is being done to every single girl in Somalia. Add to that the famine and the drought. Add to that the fighting (which means) you can die any minute, any day.” Somalis' former Minister of Women Maryam Qasim.
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95% of women undergo female genital mutilation, usually between the ages of 4 and 11 and only 9% of women give birth to a health facility (UNICEF)
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According to a survey carried by Radio Ergo participated by 165 women from 11 towns in Somalia, 65 % of the women said they are divorced.
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Violence against women in Somalia is the highest in Africa, according to Mogadishu's Somali Women Development Centre which provides support to victims.
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Rape: in 2013 Human Rights reported that rape is "normal" in Somalia. United Nations reported nearly 800 cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Mogadishu alone for the first six months of 2013. The actual number is likely much higher. Many victims will not report rape and sexual assault because they lack confidence in the justice system, are unaware of available health and justice services or cannot access them, and fear reprisal and stigma should they report rape.
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According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), about one-third of victims of sexual violence in Somalia are children.
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Women in Somalia are subjected to a strict interpretation of the Islamic law under the religious authorities, especially under the extremist Al-Shabaab group; one case that shocked the world, in 2008 Al-Shabaab group stoned to death 13-year-old rape victim, accusing her of adultery.
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With all these problems and many others, it is when a Somali woman becomes a Christian that she faces the most severe punishment.
April 09, 2018
Somaliland elders approve 'historic' law criminalising rape
NAIROBI, April 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Rapists in Somaliland face up to 20 years in jail after the break-away conservative Islamic region passed its first law against rape in a drive to combat gender violence, a senior official said on Monday.
The bill, which passed parliament’s upper house on Saturday, also criminalises other forms of gender violence such as forced marriage, trafficking for sexual slavery and sexual harassment.
Ayan Mahamoud, Somaliland’s representative in Britain, said the draft law had been awaiting parliamentary approval for years - and that President Musa Bihi Abdi’s government, which was elected in November, saw curbing sex crimes as a priority.
February 10, 2018
Authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have issued a religious fatwa banning the practice of female genital mutilation and vowed to punish violators.
October 04, 2016
Kawser praat zo zacht dat je dichterbij moet gaan zitten om haar te verstaan. Maar haar liefde voor Jezus zorgt ervoor dat ze vol overtuiging over Hem spreekt. De sluier die ooit haar hoofd bedekte, hangt nu losjes om haar schouders.
October 04, 2016
MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Somali clerics council has called for a quota for the presence of women in the parliament after the upcoming elections, arguing that the provision is not in conformity with Islam...
NAIROBI, June 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Men in war-torn Somalia suffer high rates of drug addiction, divorce and mental illness, researchers said, urging donors to do more to support men and strengthen families.