Somalia is a highly traditional country. Due to a series of civil wars (the most recent of which began in 1991 and is ongoing), the country has operated without a central government for almost ten years As a consequence, customary practices have increasingly taken the place of a non-existent legal system. Justice is perceived and applied differently depending on the region, and is based on a combination of systems that includes tribal rules, Islamic Sharia law, and the Penal Code that existed before 1991. Overall, women’s rights are restricted by the fact that they live in a highly patriarchal system.
The Somali Family Code provides very little protection for women. According to the 1975 Family Code, the legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for both men and women, but women can marry at the age of 16 years with parental authorisation. Reliable statistics are lacking, but early marriage appears to be common. During the last civil conflict, many marriages were arranged with members of the military or tribal chiefs as a means of guaranteeing the safety of the bride’s family.
Polygamy is permitted under Somalia’s customary and religious systems. Under the civil system, men who wish to take a second (or subsequent) wife must obtain authorisation from a district court of justice. Authorisation is granted if the first wife is ill or sterile, has been imprisoned for more than two years or has been “unjustifiably absent” from the marital home. It is also given in the case of “social necessity”, which is not defined in the source documents.
According to civil legislation, men head their families and have sole parental authority. If a couple divorces or separates, the mother is typically granted custody of boys up to the age of 10 years and girls up to the age of 15 years.
Before the current civil war began, the government of Somalia adopted inheritance rights based on the principles of Sharia law. As a result, daughters inherit only half the amount awarded to sons. No information is available about the inheritance rights of widows.
The physical integrity of Somali women is insufficiently protected. It is very difficult to obtain statistics to assess the scale of violence against women, but it is believed to be widespread. As there is no legislation that specifically covers domestic violence, family conflicts are addressed under customary and Sharia laws.
Sexual violence within Somali households appears to be a serious problem, and is linked to the general issue of gender discrimination. Although there are laws prohibiting rape, these are not generally applied, and there is no legislation against spousal rape. Traditional approaches to dealing with rape typically involve making “arrangements” between the clans of the victim and the rapist. Such arrangements rarely take into account the situation of the victim. This leaves women in a precarious position as rape victims are considered to be “impure” and are subjected to social discrimination.
Women have paid a high price in recent civil conflicts, which have been characterised by numerous cases of rape. Moreover, women living in camps for displaced persons continue to be particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. There has been a recorded increase in the number of gang rapes in the autonomous region Somaliland, primarily in poor neighbourhoods and among immigrant populations.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is almost universal in Somalia and infibulation, the most dangerous form of FGM, is still practised, especially in Somaliland, which ignores existing regulations. In 1972, the government established a policy to eradicate FGM: this action prompted strong social resistance and all efforts to combat the practice ended as government institutions crumbled.
Somalia does not appear to be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Somali women encounter significant discrimination in regard to property ownership. When a woman marries, she becomes the property of her husband and his tribe, although she does retain a few ownership rights relating to her family and tribe of origin.
Access to land is governed by Sharia law and patriarchal ideology. Women are largely excluded from owning land: it is the collective property of the family and is passed from father to son. Married women also have major difficulties gaining access to property other than land. This has changed recently because of large-scale male emigration; a significant number of Somali women now head their families and are thus entitled to become land owners. The civil conflict in Somalia has resulted in women playing a more important role in economic activities; they are strongly represented in such sectors as retail.
Tradition restricts Somali women’s access to bank loans.
Women in Somalia have almost no civil liberties. The civil war has caused a general loss of mobility, but the effect is more significant for women than men; moreover, the threat of rape continues to limit women’s freedom of movement. In addition, married women are obliged to follow their husbands and have no power to decide where the couple will live.
Customary laws also restrict women’s freedom of dress: the Islamic courts have applied Sharia law very strictly, obliging women to wear the veil. Many women opt to veil themselves as a protection against rape.
Afrol News (n.d.), Gender Profile: Somalia, www.afrol.com/Categories/Women/profiles/somalia _women.htm.
Byrne, B., R. Marcus and T. Powers-Stevens (1995), Gender, Conflict and Development, Volume II: Case Studies: Cambodia; Rwanda; Kosovo; Algeria; Somalia; Guatemala and Eritrea, BRIDGE, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton.
ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, UN, New York, NY.
IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) (n.d.), Legislation and Other National Provisions: Somalia, Parliamentary Campaign “Stop Violence Against Women”: Female Genital Mutilation, IPU, Geneva, www.ipu.org/wmn-e/fgm-prov.htm, accessed 10 October 2007.
Islamic Family Law (n.d.), Legal Profile of Ethiopia, Emory Law School, Atlanta, www.law.emory.edu/IFL/ accessed 30 October 2007.
Stockman, L. and C. Barnes (1997), Minority Children of Somalia, in War: The Impact on Minority and Indigenous Children, Minority Rights Group, UK.
UN (2006), World Population Prospects, Population Database, UN Population Division, New York, NY.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) (2001), “Early Marriage, Child Spouse”, Innocenti Digest, No.7, UNICEF, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2001), Female Genital Mutilation, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007a), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Somalia, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
US Department of State (2007b), International Religious Freedom Report: Somalia, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
