MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – On Saturday, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre appointed general, Bashir Mohamed Jama (Bashir Goobe), as the new Minister of Family and Human Rights, removing the term ‘women’ from the ministry’s portfolio.
This appointment follows another shocking incident just days earlier when General Bashir Goobe was sworn in as a Member of Parliament after pushing his wife, Sahro Olad Abdi, to resign.
“Both positions—the minister’s portfolio and the parliamentary one—have now been taken over by General Bashir,” said Halima Ismail, former chair of the Somalia Election Commission. “Changing the name of the ministry to remove the name of women from the portfolio was meant to give a man the right to take over, and it is sad.”
More troubling is General Bashir’s history as head of the Custodial Corps in 2015 when women prisoners were raped under his watch. He also served as the commander of the National Intelligence Agency, which committed gross human rights violations during his tenure.
“He was never held accountable for these serious human rights violations,” said Abdisalan Yusuf, who worked with General Bashir.
On Sunday, women activists and members of Parliament strongly condemned the move and called on the Prime Minister and the international community that supports the weak government in Mogadishu to take action.
Saakhiya Olaad, a gender equality and human rights activist, expressed concern that 50% of the Somali population is not represented and argued that there are many qualified women for the ministry rather than a military man. “We call for the international community to oppose this because they are the ones who support this government,” she added.
But what can be done?
Abdikarim Adam, a legal consultant and lawyer, believes the problem is deep-rooted and results from multiple factors, including societal patriarchy.
“The problem has not started today. There are different groups who are against women’s rights, and they use different things to push their agenda. Some use religion, others use clan to block women. Therefore, it needs women to launch a large movement to oppose these groups,” Abdikarim added.
Member of Parliament Mursal Khalif highlighted the threat to the role played by Somali women in state-building and peace-building, expressing concern that many groups are now united against women’s rights.
Similarly, independent activist Sheikhnor Abucar Qassim echoed that foreign and local entities might be involved in pushing an anti-feminist agenda, taking advantage of the senior leadership of the Somali federal government.
“I believe that anti-feminist groups both foreign and local, some with hardline religious beliefs, are part of this agenda. That is what I think,” he added.
Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre is known for his extremist views with close connections to hardline extremists who openly oppose women’s rights and media freedom.
“Since we know that more than 50% of our population are women, if they are marginalized, the progress that Somalia aspires to will decline. Our country cannot achieve the development it seeks as long as the knowledge, experience, skills, and ideas of Somali women are missing from the structure of governance,” said a press statement issued by the Somali Gender Equality Movement.
The movement published an open letter addressed to prime minister Barre on Sunday.
MP Mohamed Moalimu expressed concern about the future of young women if the denial of women’s rights continues.
He said, “As a father of five daughters, I am deeply worried about their future because women’s rights are not being upheld. I fear for what will happen to my daughters, whom I am working hard to educate, when they grow up in such an environment.”