Hodan Ahmed and her family were forced to flee Somalia in 1991. The civil war that drove them from their home would go on for two decades. Ahmed live abroad in India and then in Kenya, where she got her education and began her career, but her dream was to return to Somalia to give her children the chance to grow up where she could not.

We invite you to read the full article published July 2 2013 by our partner, NDI

As little-known politician Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan was sworn in as Somalia’s first female foreign minister and deputy prime minister on Monday Nov. 19, the stateswoman who hails from the unrecognised, self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland is tipped to become the country’s “Iron Lady”.

This is according to Adan´s political ally Mohamed Daahir Omar, who used to work closely with her in local Somaliland politics, in which he is currently active.

Advocacy groups for women and minorities in Somaliland have raised concerns about their political role in government after members of the lower house voted down a provision that would have established a quota for their representation in parliament.

"We decided to remove the provision providing a quota of local council and parliamentary seats to women and other minority groups from the agenda after lawmakers refused to debate on it," said first Deputy Speaker of Parliament Bashe Mohamed Farah after the vote.