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| Women from Somaliland join International Women's Day - Photo: Fatumo Osman |
The colourful ceremony whose theme was “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls” was held at the Liberty Garden, popularly known as “Beerta Xurriada’ in Hargeisa.
SOS Children’s Villages Hargeisa joined other international organisations, UN agencies, women’s groups, government officials and people from all walks of life to mark this important event.
Urging an end to harmful practices
Addressing the well attended gathering, Fadumo Sudi, the Minister for Family Affairs and Social Development thanked Somaliland women for their continued commitment, support and advocacy for peace and development in the country. In addition, she urged women to discard harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) a common practice in Somaliland. The minister reiterated the government’s commitment in protecting women against gender violence.
“When you educate a boy, you educate an individual. But when you educate a girl you educate the whole community” said Ahmed Hassan Ali, the Minister for Justice. In his speech, the minister commended Somaliland women for seeking justice and voicing their concerns on legal issues affecting them such as inheritance and land issues.
After the speeches, the Somaliland police band entertained the crowd to the popular “maanta wa maalin weyne” tune, (meaning ‘today is a great day’) to which the crowd roared in applause.
In the evening a special dinner in honour of women was held at a Hargeisa hotel. The event gave Somaliland women the chance to exchange ideas and experiences as well as reflect on local and global gender issues.
Articel written by Abdi Abdullahi Osman from SOS Social Centre Hargeisa.