Somalia

A two-day forum in Somalia that brought together women, the youth, academics, women’s rights activists and political experts concluded deliberations on Wednesday with a call for 30 percent women quota in political representation to be guaranteed.

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - Somalia's top leaders, all men, have struggled for years to tame the Horn of Africa nation's insecurity and corruption. Lawmaker Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adam says it's time for a woman's touch and on Tuesday announced her candidacy for president. But getting enough support from Somalia's lawmakers, the vast majority of them men, will be a challenge.

Somalia is halving the registration fees for women candidates to encourage more participation in the upcoming elections.

Last week, the National Consultative Council, an organ created with representation from the Prime Minister and five federal states, finally fixed a definite timeline for elections that will culminate in presidential polls on October 10.

The political agreement signed in Somalia this past heralds not just a new democratic dawn but also one of equity and inclusivity by raising the quota of women in the formal political space to at least a third of the bicameral federal legislature.

GAROWE, Somalia, Jan 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly a third of Somalia's parliamentary seats will be reserved for female lawmakers in an election next month, the prime minister said, a measure long demanded by women's rights campaigners in the Horn of Africa nation.

Civil society and human rights activists, legal experts, politicians and youth representatives met in Mogadishu on Sunday to discuss ways to increase and strengthen women's participation in Somalia's politics.

The one-day symposium held in Mogadishu with support from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Political Affairs Unit, heard of proposals and initiatives meant to promote women's political participation.

Women's rights groups, prominent businesswomen and female politicians in Somalia are urging the country's male-dominated parliament to pass a bill reserving 30 per cent of seats for women in next year's general election.

Women hold 24 per cent of the 329 seats in Somalia's lower and upper houses of parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), up from 14 per cent in the previous election.

Somali women's urge to directly participate in governance was tremendously boosted on Sunday, following the decision by Lower House to unanimously endorse a 30 per cent quota proposal for affirmative representation in the house.

For months now, international partners have been pushing for the proposal, which they insist that will erode traditional discrimination of women in leadership posiitons, including uncertainly in parliamentary representation, in a rather patriarchal society.

Despite some gains, female politicians face an uphill battle in reaching the country’s 30% quota.

Women’s participation in Somali politics has traditionally been low, and a controversial topic in the country. Somali society typically ascribes to more conservative notions of a woman’s role in family and community life, rarely envisioning a position of political leadership in a male-dominated system. This has been changing, but there’s a long road ahead.