Mogadishu – The achievements of Somali women, the challenges they face and the need to accelerate gender equality came under the spotlight today at a United Nations-backed event to mark International Women’s Day.

Held under this year’s theme of ‘Accelerate Action’ at a gathering in the Somali capital, the celebration drew an audience consisting of women representatives from civil society, parliament, academia and the private sector, as well as senior UN officials.

“We all know that in Somalia there remains an urgent need to address systemic barriers and biases faced by women, and the global theme for this year's International Women's Day speaks to that,” the UN Secretary-General’s Acting Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, said in his remarks to the gathering.

The Director of Mission Support at the UN Support Office for Somalia (UNSOS), Qurat ul-Ain Sadozai, highlighted that the day was a moment to reflect on actions needed to achieve gender equality. 

“Despite progress made, more needs to be done, and the United Nations stands ready to support efforts to advance women's equality and empowerment initiatives,” said Ms. Sadozai said in her remarks, on behalf of the Head of UNSOS.

In addition, Ms. Sadozai noted Somalia’s efforts in promoting the rights of Somali women and girls while underscoring the UN’s own efforts in fostering a supportive work environment for women in Somalia. 

Also addressing the event was the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, George Conway.

“We do need to continue to work with partners in government and parliament to understand the challenges and to surmount them to ensure that Somalia’s representative and legislative bodies better reflect the diversity of its own population,” Mr. Conway said. 

The United Nations in Somalia recognises the ongoing efforts of Somali women over the years and urges all Somali stakeholders, particularly the country’s leaders, to ensure greater inclusion, voice and participation of women in all national and state-level bodies as part of efforts to realise and sustain peace, prosperity and development in Somalia. In addition to the senior UN officials, the audience also heard from Somali women professionals and political leaders who shared their stories of struggle, resilience and success in a panel discussion.

UNSOS ‘ efforts

As part of its efforts to bridge the gender gap in the workplace, UNSOS implements various initiatives targeting Somali female job applicants for work opportunities with it through career fairs, mentorship programmes, training for women entrepreneurs on doing business with the UN, and other capacity-building programmes. 

“A good example of the work done in our capacity-building initiatives is in aviation, where UNSOS has offered internships to students at the Mogadishu Aviation College. Last year, 15 interns – 10 women and five men – gained hands-on experience shadowing our aviation professionals,” Ms. Sadozai said.

“These young women are not just breaking social barriers and changing gender norms but are also paving new pathways for others to follow,” she added.

Ms. Sadozai also reiterated UNSOS’s commitment to providing support to the African Union Stabilization Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) to improve conditions for women in order to allow for increased deployment of female uniformed personnel.

“The inclusion of female uniformed personnel in peacekeeping brings numerous benefits. Their presence enhances the effectiveness of operations by fostering trust and cooperation within local communities,” she said.

The approach also aligns the UN Security Council’s resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. Spearheaded by women leaders and organizations, the ground-breaking resolution, adopted on 31 October 2000, was the first to recognize women’s leadership to achieve international peace and security and their contributions to conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. 

Maha Abusamra, the Gender Specialist at UNDP in Somalia, said achieving gender equality requires the support of men and boys to break barriers, challenge harmful norms, and champion equal opportunities. 

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day drives home how, at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158 – roughly five generations from now – to reach full global gender parity. Hence, there is an urgent need to address systemic barriers and biases that women face.

International Women’s Day has been observed around the world since 1975 when the United Nations started marking the occasion to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

This year’s celebration coincided with the 30th anniversary of the UN’s Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – a global policy document on gender equality adopted in 1995, which is the most progressive and widely-endorsed blueprint for women’s and girls’ rights worldwide that transformed the women’s rights agenda in terms of legal protection, access to services, youth engagement, and change in social norms and stereotypes.