Breaking cultural barriers for effective voices

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Culture is very central in Somalia as we are all aware. It has kept our nations characteristics intact and continue to provide a podium for two or more Somalis to bond instantly. It is a way of life that paved for our community to own their own customs and history.

As much as culture is exceptional on its very own, there are however worries over the last 30 years that traditions is being used to sideline sections of society and give another all the means of the status quo.

Last time I checked, we had democracy as our political theme of Somalia and there has been realization that giving a fellow citizen platform to express their opinions will not only provide new and fresh ideas but will also contribute into the progress of each and every state and also the country. It's a simple way to gather and take into thoughts of ordinary citizens to shape their future. Somalia is now seeking to adopt its provisional constitution and with that will mean to pave way for shared responsibilities of all citizens. As much as beliefs/traditions are adopted into our daily lives and upbringing, the constitution however gives all individuals a manner to bring change in their respected village, district, state and country.

It is very important we can first identify and understand the problems at stake;

Identifying the problems
  • Marginalization of women in decision forums
  • Somali women tend to have their roles in the community unfortunately as household workers and this is what the common culture expects.
  • Lack of representation within community meetings
  • Men elders are always number one point of contact in the country.
  • The men are always leading the decision-making policies in the country.
  • The clan value for women
  • Non approachable traditional elders
  • The constitution itself clashes with cultural aspects of everyday lives.
Visions/Steps to overcome the current social numb

Now I'm not no expert but here are my some of my contributions on how we can overcome the social numbs;
  • Build awareness by sharing stories from the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) who's wife Khadija was a prominent businesswomen and very influential. This will highlight how women have had a huge impact in society from 1400+ years ago and can still have as much influence.
  • Establish a form of dialogue with respected elders from each district.
  • Liaising with district commissioners to involve women more in community decisions. This will eventually open the gates for elders to witness the relationship between district commissioners and women groups in the community and will gradually force the elders to invite women to when decisions are being made.
  • Approaching as a single group to represented respected elders.
  • Organizing Awareness campaigns in community level to highlighting the achievements of women in Somalia whether locally or nationally. (Leila Ali Elmi, Swedish Somali MP, is a prime example.)
  • Building and forming an alliance with the Diaspora community to approach traditional elders
  • Seeking trust from bottom-up approach level and building support within community.
  • Establishing a network with represented parliamentarians and invited to speak on Women's full rights for political participation. Lawmakers will have a huge influence.
  • Seeking mayoral position within the city or within the town/districts in Somalia. We've already witnessed this in Banadir Region where women have taken roles as District Commissioners.
  • Establishing a community centre in the district for women to form unions.
  • A union with youths and universities. As youth are more open to elders, their support will be crucial in ensuring pressure on traditional elders.
  • Encouraging involvement in national debates through the media
  • Taking part in community district level decisions
  • Utilizing social media
  • Capacity building workshops on the constitution for elders to enhance their knowledge on key points for women rights
  • Initiatives for women in districts to exercise their political rights in order to motivate more women to participate in politics.
  • To make presence felt by facilitating a weekly group meeting with district commissioners within the community.
Lets continue with the pace with slight added pressure

I think its important that the current progress witnessed is continued in its form but with added little pressure. We have a long way to go as society to re-transform itself but at the end of the day, the key thing is to start a momentum and to not let it lose its energy. 


Mohamed Hassan - @MoHassanM_

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