WardheerNews Editorial The African Union (AU), founded in 2002, as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) established in 1963, was envisioned as a robust framework to propel the African continent towards greater unity, peace, and development. Over the years, the AU has played a significant role in addressing various continental issues that...
By Othman Hassan Family values and the role of the husband hold significant importance in Somali culture, which is deeply rooted in traditions and social structures that prioritize family cohesion and responsibilities. The husband’s responsibilities as provider, protector, spiritual guide, and role model are integral to maintaining the family’s well-being and cohesion. On the hand,...
Editor’s note: Within the context of the Al-Shabaab insurgency, wives of the militants often find themselves trapped in a cycle of oppression and coercion. These women are frequently subjected to strict interpretations of Islamic law enforced by the group. In many cases, women are forced into marriages with Al-Shabaab fighters, often at a young age...
By Mohamed H. Ahmed Somalia has nominated its former Foreign Minister, Fawzia Yusuf Adam, for the seat of AUC Chairperson. This endorsement follows key diplomatic achievements, including the lifting of the arms embargo, securing debt relief, and gaining membership in the East African Community (EAC) bloc. Notably, this development complicates the path for Kenyan opposition...
By Saida Hassan On December 2017, two months after the largest terrorist attack in Somalia’s history, I landed in Mogadishu, Somalia. Most people were puzzled as to why I would forgo the security of a middle-class life in the United States for the chaotic, dangerous, and, as they put it, hopeless situation in Somalia. I...
By Jeremy Britton A woman has been found guilty of taking a three-year-old British child to Kenya for female genital mutilation (FGM). Amina Noor, 39, is the first person to be convicted of assisting a non-UK person to perform FGM. Noor, from Harrow in north-west London, took the child to a private house for the...
Somalia’s first-ever UNFPA FGM Innovation Challenge has given girls the know-how, tools and funds to fight female genital mutilation (FGM) with creative ideas, initiatives and campaigns. Nearly 99 per cent of women and girls in Somalia aged 15 to 49 have suffered the savage practice of FGM. Most are cut by traditional practitioners between the...
MOGADISHU, (Xinhua) — The education journey for Najma Abdullahi Qarey, a 24-year-old Somali woman, is intriguing and inspiring at the same time. Abdullahi got married at a younger age by her parents who live in a community that believes that the only way to safeguard the dignity of their daughters is to marry them off...
Mogadishu – One morning in 2011, Fatima Ismail Mohamed was seated in her 8th grade classroom in the Somali capital of Mogadishu waiting for the lesson to begin, when suddenly her friend seated next to her dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. At the time, she did not understand what was happening. As she progressed through middle...
Warda Ilyas Ahmed, 25, spent two years searching for jobs in Mogadishu based on her hard-earned university degree in agriculture. But when she kept on getting rejections, she turned to entrepreneurship and has set up a growing laundry service business that currently employs 13 other young people. “I was unemployed yesterday, and today I am...