Somalia is often described as one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. Headlines about the country range from its leadership of the female genital mutilation list, to which 98% of girls undergo, most of them to the extreme form of the procedure; their maternal mortality, one of the highest in the world; cases in which women are imprisoned for reporting that they have been raped or forced to marry men who sexually assaulted them, or where wives who commit adultery may be stoned to death.
Although Somalia is undoubtedly a country where women are considered second-class citizens, there is another side to the story. The one represented by Somalis, old or young, who are breaking barriers in politics, business, science or the creative industries. These are some of them:
Aisha Ali Macallin, an engineer among men
A young woman who breaks stereotypes is Aisha Ali Macallin, a 25-year-old civil engineer. In Somalia, where engineering and construction jobs are usually reserved for men, seeing her in her helmet, her hijab, her fluorescent yellow jacket and her flowing tunic is unusual.
The workers question my authority. They say, 'How dare you give us instructions? Send a man to talk to us'
Aisha Ali Macallin, civil engineer
As he balances precariously on the half-built roof of a house he is working on on Mogadishu's seafront, he describes the difficulties he encountered operating with an all-male team. “The workers questioned my authority,” he acknowledges. “They said, 'How dare you give us instructions? “Send a man to talk to us.” Macallin explains that he decided to take with her a male colleague, whom the workers respected more.
Although these sexist attitudes are slowly changing, Macallin became so fed up with the prejudices that she decided to create her own construction company, where the majority of her staff are women, including an architect and an electrical engineer. She has struggled to get contracts, despite the construction boom in Mogadishu, a city that, amid the country's instability, and after three decades of war, is beginning to rebuild. Macallin doesn't give up. She wants to serve as an example to other young women.
Hirsia Abdulle Siad and the banana empire
Plantains are enormously popular in Somalia, where they are not only eaten as a sweet snack, but as part of the main meal of the day, sharing a plate with rice, pasta and meat. Before the devastating civil war of the 1990s, Somalia was one of Africa's leading banana exporters. Then came the so-called “banana wars”, in which rival leaders fought for control of the plantations, destroyed in the fighting.
Hirsia Abdulle Siad has played a key role in the revival of the banana industry. She is one of the only women in the country who runs a large farm producing this fruit. She has also created her own company, SomFresh, which sells her products. Early every morning, Siad and her staff load huge quantities of bananas onto trucks and deliver them around Mogadishu, selling them to small traders in markets, shops, restaurants and hotels.
Ruwayda Najib Hassan, the entrepreneurial girl
While Siad has been doing business for years, another Somali entrepreneur has a thriving business at just 10 years old. The energetic Ruwayda Najib Hassan has set up a school in her own home to teach knitting, crochet and sewing. She has no qualms about giving instructions to women five times her age when they drop their stitches or make mistakes.
“It is much better for Somalis to make their own clothes rather than relying on imports,” says Hassan. “I want to be part of that revolution.”
Part of the money she makes from her business helps put her and her cousin through school, while the rest helps support her extended family.
Maryan Mohamed Bulle and the importance of early childhood
Some of the women who bring new ideas to Somalia are returnees from the diaspora. Others are local talents. One of them is recently graduated educator Maryan Mohamed Bulle, who wants to revolutionize the care and education of children in early childhood.
Before going to school, around age six, most Somali children in out-of-home care do not participate in stimulating activities, Bulle says. Therefore, in 2021, she founded the Early Childhood Development Center, which trains child caregivers about the importance of play. He teaches them, for example, how to make clay, which they dye and cut, explaining that playing with the dough helps children learn colors and shapes and improves their manual dexterity. She also helps them convert parts of their homes into more suitable environments, with safer kitchens and play areas with educational toys. In addition, she organizes sessions for parents and children in which she encourages them to participate in stimulating recreational and educational activities, introducing a new way of conceiving the care of children.
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