From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: SOMALILAND: WOMEN FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Sun, 5 Apr 1992 09:23:57 GMT

/** gen.women: 383.0 **/
** Topic: SOMALILAND: WOMEN FIGHTING FOR THEI **
** Written  8:50 am  Mar 29, 1992 by hrcoord in cdp:gen.women **
From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: SOMALILAND: WOMEN FIGHTING FOR THEI

/* Written  6:16 am  Mar 29, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: SOMALILAND: WOMEN FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS

an inter press service feature

by obinna anyadike

hargeysa, mar 26 (ips) -- while somaliland strives to survive
and gain recognition as a sovereign state, its women are
fighting for another cause -- their rights.

''somaliland means oppressed women. men and women don't have
equal rights,'' zimzim abdi told ips.

like the majority of other educated and professional women
in this self-proclaimed independent territory of somalia, zimzim
has been appalled by the hardline islamic stance of the interim
government on womens' rights.

''they say the best place for a women is in the home and that
the muslim religion says this. in may, when they announced
somaliland, they said this must be part of the constitution. i
don't like it, i like to be free,'' adds ibaq mohamed.

zimzim and ibak work for non-governmental organisations, a
situation which is frowned upon. ''most muslims will say it is
not allowed. responsibility for me should be on my father and,
when i marry, my husband.'' says ibaq.

throughout somaliland -- and somalia -- the women are
traditionally and demurely dressed in long bright-coloured
shifts to the ankle, and their hair is covered.

one young women who returned here from america told ips how
she was stoned and abused for wearing jeans.

in this tough nomadic society, the women have had a raw deal.

''seventy percent of our people are nomads. in the rural areas,
women build the houses, dismantle them, fetch water, look after
the kids and the household, herd the goats, sheep and cattle.
only the camels are looked after by the men because of their
prestige,'' says zimzim.

''if the husband divorces her she must give back the children,
the animals, everything. if her husband dies, she must marry one
of her brothers.''

but zimzim points out that a shift has occurred in the
positio of women. in the nine-year struggle against former
president siad barre, somaliland was depopulated, with people
forced to flee to refugee camps in ethiopia and djibouti.

there, she says, ''life was hard. the men had left (to fight)
and women started trading and became economically self-dependant.
(more/ips)


somaliland: women (2)

''when we came back (to somaliland) the government said women
must stay in the homes. there are a lot of widows and they have
to work. but the problem is that our women don't see themselves
as equals.''

compounding the cultural inferiority of women is the
universal practice of circumcision. before puberty, with a razor
blade and without anaesthetic, all girls are infibulated usually
by a traditional midwife. it is a ritual that can be fatal.

the gynaeocological consequences are immense. somalia has the
highest maternal mortality rate in africa, due largely to the
complications involved in giving birth.

''circumcision is almost sacred, and impure if you don't have
it. all women who don't have it are regarded as promiscuous,''
sister mary bertilla, who runs the medecin sans frontieres
mothers' and childrens' hospitals (mch) here, told ips.

''i don't know if i can say it is just one sex imposing this
practice. it's just the older generation,'' she adds.

through the mchs, midwives are being encouraged to adopt the
''sunna'' clitoidectomy, as practised in the arab world, rather
than full infibulation. but tradition outweighs medical sense.

dr abdi ismael, who works in an mch, has several horror
stories. one young women, who could no longer urinate, was
critically bloated but refused to be surgically opened.

''she said 'no' because it is a taboo and nobody would marry
her. she said 'better i die instead'.''

''the men have somehow changed their minds. they feel there is
something missing from those who have been infibulated. but the
taboo is so strong. it's the culture and nobody will change it.
even educated women circumcise their daughters,'' abdi adds.

it is an accutely embarassing subject for somali women. the
only comment by ibaq, who is a university graduate, is she
agrees with the practice.

''somali women are some of the most freest spirited in the
world, and yet they are so oppressed. they have the lowest
calorie intake but the highest output of work. the whole
tradition is nomadic, so the spirit is one of endurance,''
sister mary explained to ips. (end/ips/oa/apc/92)


** End of text from cdp:gen.women **

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