The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

The manner of holding such discussions has serious consequences on
gender equality in post-conflict Somalia.
Xeer is also used in the 4.5 clan formula, a formula for power-sharing
among major and minority clans of Somalia to build peace and the state.
Through xeer, each clan appoints and approves its own men and women
to represent them as parliamentarians and ministers in the TFG parliament
and cabinet. In response to this discriminatory formula, women
like Asha Haji Elmi formed the Sixth Clan, a separate clan for women
across clans. This was not only a political gesture on Asha’s part, but
also a tool to advance women’s representation and participation in the
peace and state-building processes. Through the Sixth-Clan, Asha and
other like-minded women were able to unify and mobilize women as
one group, and push for a women’s agenda and political recognition. It
is initiatives such as these that need nurturing and international support
in order to advance women’s participation in post-conflict Somalia.
Despite societal and cultural restrictions, Somali women use their marginalization
as a tool to overcome social restrictions and gender discrimination.
For instance, they take advantage of their second-class clan position
to build relationships across clans. Through such linkages, women were
able to travel across regions and carry out business. During the militarized
violence, Somali women who were married to men belonging to the opposite
clans – clans that were deemed the enemy by own their clans –
were able to provide refuge to men, other women and children. Interviews
with women in Puntland and Somaliland in 2005 and 2006 who
were in cross-clan marriages indicated that women who were positioned
between different clans felt that they had the responsibility to “protect”
other women, men and children who could not could find refuge from
women who had different clan affiliations. They used their subordinate
position to their advantage, enabling them to protect the lives of family
members, neighbours and friends who were targeted by warlords and
their armed militias. Through their individual experiences following the
collapse of the state, Somali women have also recognized that they have
the responsibility to build and maintain peace in their communities. And
as the conflict in Somalia remains protracted, women continue to care for
the displaced population, the injured and victims of sexual violence.
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