Somali Gender Equity Movement (SGEM) Founder & Chairwoman Zainab M. Hassan was one of the Briefers of the United Nations Security Council at a videoconference meeting on Nov 23rd on the situation in Somalia focusing on women participation in many aspects of the society, particularly political participation.
The briefers included James Swan, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, and Mohamed Hussein Roble, Prime Minister of Somalia.
Zainab Hassan clearly pointed out some of the obstacles faced by women in the electoral process. Some of the barriers include outright opposition to the minimum 30% quota for women by some of the political elites, religious leaders, traditional elders and male politicians as well as lack of access to financial resources.
Zainab M. Hassan said “The pushback against women across the board, and the steep decline of women seats in all the FMS parliaments, with the exception of Jubbaland is concerning as an indication for the upcoming 2020-21 election. it is alarming that no women is among the appointed three members per FMS representing the federal government in the Federal Member State Electoral Management Committee (FMSEMC). In addition, the appointed Federal Electoral Implementation Committee (FEIC) to oversee the implementation of the electoral process, and the Independent Dispute Resolution Mechanism Team both fall short of the agreed 30% quota for women.”
You can watch the full briefing at the link below:
https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/2503451/uiconf_id/43914941/entry_id/1_54p1dvzk/embed/dynamic
