The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

its people. Despite its poor human rights records and high levels of corruption,
foreign and military aid continued to flow until the mid-1980s. This
aid, channelled into the military rather than to such sectors as health and
education, impacted on those Somalis who attempted to challenge the
military, and also especially upon Somali women. It also perpetuated the
tension between Ethiopia and Somalia: after 1977, Siad Barre waged war
against neighbouring Ethiopia over the Ogaden region, which was part of
Somalia prior to colonialism. The region is inhabited by the Ogaden clan,
a sub-clan of the Darood clan to which Barre belonged. Before this war,
the Soviets were allies of Somalia, but this changed swiftly when the Sov -
iets sided with Ethiopia militarily. With this betrayal, Siad Barre broke off
relations with the Soviets and ordered them out of Somalia. With Soviet
and Cuban military support, Ethiopia emerged as the victor in the war,
which caused death, destruction, the displacement of ethnic Somalis from
Ethiopia, and lasting enmity between the two countries. It also paved the
way for opposition groups in Somalia, particularly among the disenchanted
generals and colonels from the Hawiye and Darood clans, who had participated
in the war. This group which felt neglected, saw the war against
Ethiopia as a waste and began their opposition against the military regime
they had once supported both morally and intellectually. Some of the gen -
erals organized a military plot to topple the Barre regime, but failed due to
premature action. In retaliation, the military government took drastic action,
including violence against anyone who criticized the regime. As a
result, some members of the opposition lost their jobs, while others were
jailed and died in prison. Others like Abdillahi Yusuf fled to neighbouring
Ethiopia, to carry out a decade long political campaign and military actions
against Barre’s regime. Women and children were negatively impacted
especially when their spouses and fathers were targeted by the regime.
The following section examines how the international community and international
organizations responded to Somalia’s conflict and how their
responses impacted on the overall militarized violence in Somalia.
International community responses to Somalia’s militarized violence
When the militarized violence finally brought the total disintegration of
the Somali state in early 1990s, the international community was hesitant
to intervene and was instead preoccupied with other conflict zones,
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