Somalia captured the headlines in 1992 as half a million people died in a famine caused by conflict. TV cameras followed the ill-fated US military intervention, which was the international response to the crisis. Somali women have had to go through traumatic circumstances. Women’s experiences of the 14 years of war – recorded in their own words only now – highlight both loss and horrific violence. The decade of conflict has affected relations between women and men. Many women have fought for equal rights and peace in this situation of state collapse.

A book from the Catholic Institute for International Relations presents the harrowing testimonies of war-affected Somali women. It recounts their experiences, the choices they had to make, how they coped and the changes and opportunities they faced. Many have lost their male relatives and have witnessed their murders. They have also seen or been victims of rape. In order to survive, most have had to remain on the move. Several who had been forcibly removed from their homes sought asylum abroad. Others are trying to start their lives all over again in parts of Somalia.

Contributors to the book are educated, professional women – exceptional in a country where female literacy is around 12 per cent – mostly working in the field of health, education or social research. They present both their personal experiences and observations of how women’s lives have been affected by the conflict. They show how:

• Clan conflicts have divided families, severed relations between husbands and wives, mothers and children and grandchildren and forced many women to make painful decisions in order to save their lives and those of their children.
• Traditional rules that governed feuds and prevented violence directed at women, children and the elderly have collapsed.
• Rape, though not accepted by clan values, has now become integral part of the clan violence. Women with weak clan affiliations and from minority groups face the greatest risk.
• Some women too have contributed to the conflict through their activist roles in mobilising support for warlords, contributing to the clan militia and starting violence against neighbours.
• Survival strategies, such as depending on remittances, are important but by no means all families are fortunate enough to have educated and skilled members in the dispersed community to benefit from this.

Conflict has lowered what was already one of the world’s lowest literacy rates – for both men and women. Sexual violence continues to remain a critical issue in many parts of Somalia. War has made families more dependent on the domestic labour of girls, further diminishing their prospects of entering, let alone completing, primary education. The death of male relatives has meant that female-headed households are far more common now. Even in families with male heads, men’s ability to provide has been so reduced that women are increasingly becoming principal breadwinners.

Although women have always had active roles in production and marketing, their trading and commercial activities expanded considerably with the war. Women – particularly through the recent expansion of women’s organisations - have contributed considerably to social and economic reconstruction initiatives.  This has led to gains for women, in terms of economic independence and in terms of recognition, respect and sharing of decisions within the household. However, these major changes in gender relations and decision-making within the household economy have not been matched by new spaces for female voices in political arenas. Though many women have been prominent peace-activists, they have been excluded from formal peace conferences held in the country.

Despite this discouraging scenario, there are some signs of hope:

• Local human rights organisations have emerged where none existed a decade ago and some are addressing sexual violence.
• In the refugee camps of northern Kenya sexual assaults on women no longer go unpunished.
• In the northern mini-state of Somaliland democratic elections have been held and two female cabinet ministers have been appointed.
• Women in the diaspora are able to take advantage of new opportunities for education and training.

Commitments to women’s rights and political participation have been made both by the Somaliland government and by the Transitional National Government in Somalia. Only time will tell whether the gains that women have been able to wrest from their war-time experiences will be consolidated in the long term.

Source(s):
‘Somalia: the untold story: the war through the eyes of Somali women’ Pluto Press, edited by Judith Gardner and Judy el Bushra, February 2004

Funded by: Department for International Development (DFID), Comic Relief, NOVIB Christian Aid (CAFOD) UNICEF ActionAid

id21 Research Highlight: 4 October 2004

Further Information:
Judith Gardner
Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR)
Unit 3 Canonbury Yard
190a New North Road
London N1 7BJ
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7354 0883
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7359 0017
Contact the contributor: judith@ciir.org

Catholic Institute for International Relations, UK

Judy el Bushra
30 The Avenue
London NW6 7YD
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 451 3889
Contact the contributor: judy@el-bushra.com

Other related links:
'Fused in combat: gender relations and armed conflict'

'Women facing war: how does armed conflict affect women?'

'The importance of remittances for Somali refugees'

'Re-conceiving war-affected children: from passive victims to active survivors'

'Women and Armed Conflict'

Our Bodies - Their Battle Ground: Gender-based Violence in Conflict Zones from IRIN news