United Nations Resolution 1325, the first internationally endorsed declaration for gender mainstreaming in peacebuilding, has sparked considerable discussion since its adoption two decades ago. Even in Somalia, a country that ranks near the very bottom of gender inequality worldwide, the debate over women’s participation in politics has been a hot one. This is especially the case with elections looming in the country.
Despite the myriad challenges that women have traditionally faced in Somalia, including the total collapse of the state in 1991, women have taken bold steps to engage in and galvanize civil society work across the country. Somali women have played an especially influential role in local peace processes. However, their participation in the wider political sphere – namely, in elected positions – has been routinely undermined.
The establishment of a clan-based power sharing model has reinforced Somalia’s exclusion of women. According to Shukri Dini, founder of the Somali Women’s Study Centre, “clan leaders often tell women wanting to become members of parliament that the number of seats designated to each clan are too few to allocate seats to women.” In order to address this problem, Article III of Somalia’s provisional constitution – drafted in 2012 – states: “Women must be included, in an effective way, in all national institutions, in particular all elected and appointed positions across the three branches of government and in national independent commissions.” This framework enabled the government in 2012 to endorse a 30% quota for women’s representation in parliament. Several years later, during the country’s 2016 legislative elections, Somali women would win 24% of parliamentary seats – a laudable achievement, but less than the intended amount.
The failure of Somalia to thus far achieve a 30% quota for women’s representation in parliament has its roots in the fact that it’s a mere political commitment, not a constitutionally binding one. That could soon change.
Somalia’s current government, elected in 2017, came to office with a plan to revisit the issue of women’s representation. At the 2019 convention of the Somali Women’s Charter, for example, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire affirmed his government’s “gratitude and respect for Somali women.” Importantly, this rhetoric translated to action. In late June of this year, the Somali lower house approved a bill that now provides for a 30% quota in parliament. And while the parliament has yet to ratify the bill, this represents a potentially significant step forward for the country and its politics of inclusion.
As Somalia prepares for its first “one man one vote election” – the country’s first in half a century – women’s participation in voting and candidates running for office should be encouraged. In the lead up to these elections, Somali women and their allies should also seize the opportunity to mobilize and to fight for the official enshrinement of the 30% quota in Somalia’s constitution. In order to do so, the country will also need the backing of international stakeholders, including donor agencies and key governments, to make their supportive voices heard. Now is indeed the time to speak up.
The political participation of women is integral to Somalia’s pivot from clan-based politics towards a more representative and inclusive democracy. Study after study has shown that the underrepresentation of women in political life contributes to worsening inequality and stalled economic development. The principles guiding a truly democratic process must necessarily encourage the involvement of all its citizens. For Somalia especially, actively championing women in politics makes moral sense as well as long-term political and development sense. There is no time to lose.
Mohamed Abdi holds a BA in International Relations and an MA in African Studies from the University of Birmingham. He is interested in the areas of democracy, peace building and customary authorities in Africa.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Vanguard Africa or the Vanguard Africa Foundation.