By Hudda Ibrahim
Against the backdrop of traditional Somali’s masculinity of politics, a few educated women rose to prominence between 1950s and 1960s to expand women’s access to politics. In order for women to claw their way in the male-dominated political landscape, a group of prominent female scholars and feminists that included Fadumo Ureji, Dahabo Farah and Sirad Yusuf established Somali Women’s Movement in 1968 to foster women’s rights, empowerment, and equal opportunity in the polity. Having witnessed how women were subject to widespread discrimination that marked them as secondary citizens and women were outsiders to the formal structures of political life, such as holding elective office, those activists campaigned real hard to get their voice heard.
When Siad Barre government came to power on October 21, 1969, members of the Somali Women’s Movement met with the president and convinced him to include women in local, regional and national political processes. Because of women’s commonality, consistent struggle and persistent effort to promote equality yielded a concrete result. Somali president Mohamed Siad Barre appointed several women as ministers and ambassadors. Among the women who held prominent positions in the society were Raqio, Marian Farah, Ureji, Fadumo Omar Hashi and many others.
Nevertheless, parity gained a broad base of support. Somali female scholars at that time were included in the political party, civil society and the state. Over the course of these years, however, women in Somalia moved significantly (though still not equally) into all aspects of public life-politics, education and profession.
The overthrow of President Said Barre in 1991 marked a turning point in Somali politics, economy and society. The beginning of factionalism and warlordism negatively have had a colossal impact on women’s socioeconomic situation and their political representation.
Even though state collapse has stripped women of their substantial legal and political progress achieved during the years in Siad Barre’s regime, a few women thought it was essential to resume their crusade. A group of Somali women participating in the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) peace processes in 2003 proposed to be given 25 percent representation in the Transitional National Government. During the meeting, female delegates sought to expand the standard goal for women’s political participation, but clan elders were far from satisfied with the idea of a proportional share assigned to women. A few years after, the constitution soared from 25 percent to a 30 percent. Until now, women are considerably underrepresented in electoral politics.
Unfortunately, Somali women have gone back to a previous state in the 1960s. The progress they made is now wasted. The question is, why can’t the Somali women be conferred the 30 percent quota cited in the constitution? Why is the position of Somali women always on the lowest rung of the ladder? What are the challenges facing women?
In order to understand the challenges Somali women are now facing, we need to look at the general Somali clan structure, and thus analyze how clan elders often promote the interests of male clan members, not that of women’s. Moreover, gender inequality is entrenched in tradition and clan perceptions that portray women as the weaker sex.
Another obstacle that paralyzes women’s political involvement is the absolute failure on the part of this incumbent Federal Government to abide by the constitution that accords women to a 30 percent quota. For example, the new prime minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed appointed 25 ministers, 25 deputy ministers, and five state ministers, only two women included on Friday night, January 17, 2014. Abdiweli Sheikh met with women representatives in Mogadishu right after the president nominated him as the prime minister. During the meeting, Abdiweli and the women representatives discussed the role of women in rebuilding Somalia, with a focus on women’s rights and the need for their participation in the political process and peace-building efforts. He promised he would appoint more women in his cabinet and called for women as a “Clan One.” Mr. Abdiweli meant he would give women a number one priority. It is clear to me here that the hope of women to be given a good quota is still in question.
In this section, I would focus on another obstacle that is hard for women to overcome unless the underlying political structures are changed. In Somalia, parliamentary seats are allocated using clan-based power sharing system, the 4.5 formula, where an equal number of seats in parliament go to each of the four major Somali clans, while minority clans receive half that number. Somali clan elders refuse women to represent their clans and thus appoint male representatives only. The reasons why elders discriminate women while choosing clan members for the parliament are that clan leaders consider women as weak and inexperienced. Women like men have both knowledge and potentialities to lead.
Another problem the female politicians with cross-clan marriages face is exclusion of the politics. Such those women feel ostracized from the clan of their birth and the clan in which they have married while pursuing a political vocation.
In addition to that, the appointed female parliamentarians and ministers are muted. In order to survive in a male-dominated political landscape, those female elites chose to take masculine personas to get along. This means they have no influence in the decision-making. It is clear that no single female politician has done anything tangible for the betterment of Somali women’s rights and equality during the one-year term in this government. What matters here is female ministers and parliamentarians’ commitment to the gender issues and to advocating and advancing women’s rights and equality.
Another challenge is that Somali women rely on the very men to promote their rights. The presence of hegemonic masculinity and femininity to refer to these interpretations of manhood and womanhood is demoralizing. The masculinized configuration of governance and socially constructed gendered hierarchy undervalue women’s contributions.
The only ways women can overcome the challenges are that they should form a committee of female elders ready to unite women, regardless of their socioeconomic strata, clan and political affiliations. Somali women should take an example of women back in the 1960s that were organized and willing to champion women’s rights. Women should form their own nonpartisan party that seeks Somali women’s rights and conduct educational campaigns to sensitize the public about their roles in decision-making. Somali women in the country and those in the Diaspora should closely work together for their common interest.
Women constitute half of the population and should take part in the decision-making. If women are not represented in the decision-making, then their interest will not be represented. Because of the present political gap, no man will give women power unless women wake up to claim what is theirs. This reminds me of Asha Hagi Elmi, a Cross-Clan Group of Women’s Peace activist, who campaigned for women to form a specific organization of representatives of a six clan free from Somali clan. In my opinion, women do not need a clan to fight for them. They need to form their own party that seeks their missing rights. In order for women to effect change, they should promote their political representation, decision-making and peace building.
Hudda Ibrahim, an MA International Peace Studies, Public Analysis and Political Change at the Kroc Institute, Notre Dame University. She also holds B.A. Degrees in Peace Studies and English from the College of Saint Benedict and University of Saint John’s. She is an independent researcher and writer stationed in Indiana.
Source: Somalicurrent
