Somali Women

Much has been said about the ongoing crisis taking place in Somalia. Many historians have pointed out aspects of the different economic and political impacts of the war on the country. However there has not been much analysis on the impact Somali women faced because of the war. During the late nineteenth century, Somalia was a conservative country practicing patriarchal traditions. Somalia was a male dominated country, and thus women were not seen as important figures. They were behind the scenes, which caused their voices to be lost in the turmoil. Due to the countries’ patriarchal ideals, much of its analysis on the role of women is based on a male’s opinion and stereotypes. Author Kapetijn argues in her novel Women and the Crisis of Communal …show more content…
Although the end of Siyaad Baare’s regime in 1991 brought a great deal of suffering for women, women gained a new status. Due to the consequences of the war, Somali women were forced to take on the responsibilities of their household and communities. After their husbands departed to war, Somali women were left to take care of their children and tribes fending for themselves. Still after their husbands returned, women were still responsible for their families because the war affected the mental state of the men. Women were left to take on a role in the financial issues of their families, and even took on political offices to create peace efforts and fight for women rights. In the book Women War Stories, written by Turshen (1998), the author describes the struggle women faced during the war. In one account she discusses the many responsibilities women had to take on such as “harvesting crops to feed their families and negotiating the issues within the tribe” (p. …show more content…
Political status became a key drive for Somali women. During the Siyaad Baare regime, Somalia was trying to become a democratic party. A new ideal they were trying to adopt from the United States. This idea led Siyaad Barrer to increase their efforts to create gender equality within the country. In 1971 the establishment of the “Somali Women’s Democratic Organization (S.W.O.D) was created to bring gender equality to the country” (Jonathan, 1990, p. 10). The Somali Women’s Democratic Organization helped strengthen the role of women in Somalia. Jonathan argues that the many new laws set such as the Family Law of 1975 were created to advocate women’s education and women’s healthcare. However, these efforts were not as strong because of the uproar of people against these laws. Men believed that the new laws went against their conventional views. They believed that men were always expected to be seen as the dominate gender, whereas the women were to be seen as recessive. In 1991, after the end of Siyaad Baare’s regime, the organization fell apart as well as the national government. The social power women gained from their tribal relations propelled them to advocate for women’s right and soon brought back the organization. Women’s activist Maryan Haji was one of the many women who tried to gain political power for women in Somalia. She