By Hassan Barise MOGADISHU, Somalia — Among the once-taboo professions emerging from Somalia’s decades of conflict and Islamic extremism is the world of arts, and a 21-year-old female painter has faced more opposition than most. A rare woman artist in the … Continued
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab In August 2021, the U.N. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, and the U.N. Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, warned about the alarming increase in sexual violence in Somalia and called upon all … Continued
In our series of letters from African journalists, Ismail Einashe considers how Somalia’s story-telling tradition has changed since the civil war. I recently met the award-winning writer Ubah Cristina Ali Farah at a literary festival on the Italian island of … Continued
Brenda Mulinya NAIROBI, KENYA — Female circumcision, known as female genital mutilation, is illegal in Kenya but is still being forced on young girls in some areas. Cases increased after schools closed due to the pandemic, but one survivor is fighting … Continued
By Aggrey Mutambo Somalia’s may have last week struggled with its old political problems after President Mohamed Farmaajo bitterly differed with his Prime Minister Hussein Roble. But the country faces another continual problem: female genital mutilation (FGM). Data from the UN … Continued
By Ryan Lenora Brown The Malian writer Amadou Hampâté Bâ famously wrote that “in Africa, when an old man dies, a library burns down.” Shugri Said Salh found herself haunted by those words. She had grown up in a nomadic community … Continued
RUBA OBAID JEDDAH: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic lockdowns have brought about many changes in daily health and beauty routines with many Saudis opting for a more natural look. And the enforced closure of hair salons in particular has resulted … Continued
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab In recent months reports have emerged highlighting the use of rape and sexual violence in the context of the recent conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. The armed conflict began on November 4, 2020, when “Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed … Continued
Fartun Hassan Ahmed bled to death after undergoing female genital mutilation, a practice that 98% of women in the east African country undergo Hassan Abdirahman in Galmudug and Lizzy Davies A 13-year-old girl has died after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) … Continued
By Lebo Diseko Sara Gamal has a track record of achieving big things, and now the Egyptian civil engineer and basketball player-turned-referee is about to make Olympic history. She will be the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman to referee basketball at … Continued
By Mohamed Kahiye 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 … Continued
Canada – Dunia Nur was out buying paint when it happened. The community organiser in Edmonton, Alberta was speaking Somali to her aunt on the phone when a man at the shop aggressively told her to “speak English”. When she tried … Continued
