Dear Ms. Wairimu Munyinyi,

Thank you for an interesting question. We are happy to suggest you some resources from our library and other online networks as well as to provide you with expert advice given by the iKNOW Politics Expert, Ms. Nkoyo Toyo.

We hope our response will be helpful to you. We wish you all the best in your work promoting women in politics in Somaliland.

Sincerely,

iKNOW Politics Staff

Suggested Resources:

Women Building Peace: Sharing Know-How. Assessing Impact: Planning for Miracles. Publisher: International Alert. 2005. http://www.iknowpolitics.org/en/node/3208

Somalia Between Peace and War: Somali Women on the Eve of the 21st Century. Publisher: UNIFEM. 1999. http://www.iknowpolitics.org/en/node/21

Assessment of Potential Women Leaders in Somaliland. Author: Amina Mohamed Warsame. Publisher: IPRT. http://www.iprt.org/Amina%20Mohamed%20Warsame.htm
Somali Women. Publisher: UNIFEM. http://www.unifem-easternafrica.org/somalia_inner.asp?cat=somalia&pcat=countryfocus&pcat1=&sid=

Impact Evaluation of the War-Torn Societies Project: Somaliland. Author: Mary Hope Schwoebel. Publisher: Management System International (MSI). 2001 http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/ICT/research/ICT_and_Conflict/DEC%20Post%20Conflict%20Evaluations/somaliland%20WSP%20wroebel.pdf

Where are the women? Author: Sarah Austin. 2003.
http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20011231&s=austin

Ms. Nkoyo Toyo’s expert advice

Clans with common ancestral origins that are interrelated through complex networks of social relationships which define the way the community is operated. And in traditional Somali society, the clan was a social and political unit of organization and government. The challenge is how to incorporate these clans into Western models of state and democracy, including human rights. In some states, the western models will not be an ideal approach for promoting women in politics. This partially may be explaied by the strong influence of Arab Muslims living in the country. Islam has been incorporated into Somali mentality and all aspects of life, shrinking the space for women's political participation. In addition, Somalia is faced with both local and international problems of legitimacy, where citizens have been forbidden for many years from publicly discussing politics. Somaliland has also been restricted into a culturally homogeneous nation-state with the clan units as the basis for political and social mobilization and organization. The existing political conflict raises the role of the following five interrelated issues constraining women's political participation:

1. Identity for participation is defined by clan and religious affiliations;

2. Distribution of power in the existing political system;

3. Management of economic resources;

4. Legitimacy and authority of government over the national territory;

5. Problems related to state building and governance i.e. the extent of government’s authority over the population.

Suggestions for NAGAAD

I would like to make the following suggestions to Nagaad in their work promoting women into politics in Somaliland:

1. Religion can be both progressive and retrogressive, however women living under Islamic and fundamental Christian situations have used progressive interpretation of religion (sometimes with the assistance of men as advocates) to influence cultural attitudes. Such interpretation can be used to advocate for promoting women’s leadership in politics.

2. In functional states, the use of affirmative action and laws has promoted women’s political participation. The domestication of these practices is often due to pressures arising from commitments made at several international meetings. However, in the case of Somaliland, where this is less practicable, women may seek ways to negotiate some of these gender based ‘conditionalities’ into various forms of external assistance. For instance, such conditionalities may be included in programs targeting democracy assistance and humanitarian assistance.

3. One of the less progressive ways is to promote women who are relatives (wives or siblings) of powerful male leaders. This can be used to break the gender wall and subsequently create a basis for other to get into public spaces.

4. It is important to build links and relationships with women’s groups in the Somali Diaspora existing in the United States and Canada, which can be an important leverage for organizing women within Somaliland. Somali women in such Diaspora groups are usually organized into cultural and/or clan formations and they meet regularly to decide on assistance measures to Somaliland from abroad. If the women within Somaliland are linked to such women’s groups, they can use their resources to campaign for more women in politics. For example, Nigerian groups abroad are usually very influential and participate extensively in their community decision making processes.

5. In the villages, women hold some leadership positions as heads of women’s events and organizers of activities for a village, a clan or a religious group. In a traditional society, women can also hold religious leadership positions, which in many instances are removed from politics. Nevertheless, it would be very beneficial to exploit the leadership positions held by women for extending their influence into the political realm. These women can form alliances with other women and men in the community to pressure their clan heads to include women in formal political processes.

6. Using women’s economic empowerment to negotiate for political influence and later for positions in clan politics. There are many traditional women’s groups/associations engaged in economic empowerment programs. Once women are able to transcend the initial barrier of leaving their homes, they can begin organizing into other groups. The paradox is that women may find difficult to act separately, but they are more willing to do things in groups.

7. It is proven useful to highlight the cases of outstanding roles played by women in societies and to use their stories in promoting women up the political ladder.

8. Put emphasis on the link between women’s literacy, capacities and leadership- this should be a regular refrain in most discussions. It is difficult for clans and male headed groups to prevent women with skills and knowledge from holding leadership positions. Ultimately, once few women get into the politics, then the gates for others will open. Therefore, it is important to promote education among women and girls and raise their literacy level across the country. Once a woman is literate and competent, it is easier to negotiate a leadership position for her.

It is very important to work on all of the above mentioned ideas together.

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About Nkoyo Toyo:
Nkoyo Toyo is a lawyer, governance expert and active feminist, who founded the Gender and Development Action (GADA) in 1994. GADA is a national NGO committed to the pursuit of social justice from a gender perspective. She works as an independent consultant on gender and governance issues primarily in Nigeria, but with some working experiences elsewhere in Africa. Ms. Toyo was the Chair of the 2003 Commonwealth People’s Forum in Abuja, Nigeria and served on the Board of the Commonwealth Foundation. She sits on a number of international boards including the Participation and Development Relations Advisory Group of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK and the Forum International de Montreal (FIM) in Canada.