The history of Somali women in politics still continues even after terrorists hacked many to death
There’s a long history of Somali women and politics, from Xawo Tako and Saado Ali to Ilhan Omar to Mama Saadia and many others. Due to diversity and intergrating with other nationalities, Somali women progressed in different fields of leadership.
Often times, in Somalia, a strong female voice meet ultimate brutality of patriarchy. The life, struggle and deaths of many Somali leaders including Xaawo Tako and Sado Cali. Xaawo killed in 1948 and Saado in 2014
However, the fall of some of the strong women has not jeaorpadised other women from seeking for a political office including Fatima Dayib and Ilhan Omar, the former is the first female presidential candidate in Somalia.
Fadumo Qasim Dayib was the first Somali woman to run for President of Somalia in November 2016 election.
Ilhan Omar was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016 on the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party line. In 2018, she was elected to the U.S House of Representatives marking a number of historic electoral firsts: she is the first Somali-american, first naturalized citizen from Africa, and the first non-white woman elected from Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress.
This sheer resilience and trial shows that there’s still hope in women despite the cowardly ways of suppressing their ambitions.
According to some sources , Hawo Tako was a prominent early 20th century Somali nationalist. Taako participated in the 1948 riots in Mogadishu that followed the visit of the Four power commission where she was killed.
Saado Ali Warsame was a Somali-American singer, songwriter and politician. She served as a lawmaker in the Federal Parliament of Somalia. Saado was a prominent figure in traditional Somali music, her art and legislative work were centered on political and social justice. She was killed by al-Shabab in 2014.
There are many other Somali women who were forced by civil wars to flee to other countries, beat the odds and are now serving elective positions.
The global movement of Somalis across the world has provided new opportunities for Somali women to overcome new barriers, triumph over new terrains and enter politics elsewhere
For some, the gab is still wide, More work is yet to be done by Somali women who are grappling with exclusion from politics because they belong to a marginalised clan, gender-based violence and lack of access to basic education.
The bravery shown by Xaawo Tako and Saado Ali in fighting for their place in politics amid the killings carried out by Somali terror group Al-shabaab should not go in vain, Somali women should take their places in wherever they call home and fight for their rights.
