Somali women demand guarantee of 30% of parliament in 2021 election 24%

Women’s rights groups, prominent businesswomen and female politicians in Somalia are urging the country’s male-dominated parliament to pass a bill reserving 30 percent of seats for women in next year’s general election.

Women hold 24 percent of the 329 seats in Somalia’s lower and upper houses of parliament, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), up from 14 percent in the previous election.

In June, Somalia’s lower house approved a bill allowing for 30 percent of parliamentary seats to be reserved for women, but the bill has not been tabled before the upper house for approval. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed did sign an agreement with regional leaders in September which included the 30 percent quota — but women’s rights campaigners said this was not good enough.

“We want this commitment on reserving 30 percent seats for of the 329 seats are held up by women in Somalia’s lower and upper houses of parliament.

women to be passed as legislation,” said Deqa Abdiqasim Salad, CEO of Hear Women, a charity working to strengthen the political voice of women in Somalia.

“We are happy to have achieved 24 percent in the current parliament, but legislation is necessary to ensure that we do not lose the seats we have and help strengthen democracy by providing for a more representative voice in policymaking.”

Salad is one of more than 135 signatories on a declaration calling for a 30 percent quota.

Other signatories include Chair of the National Independent Electoral Commission Halima Ismail Ibrahim, prominent doctor Amina Aden Mohamed and women’s rights activist Luul Maxamed Feerayare. Somalia’s 79 female parliamentarians are also co-signatories. Supporters of gender quotas point to African countries such Rwanda, which leads the world with 55 percent of women occupying parliamentary seats, as an example of progressive governance.

This was achieved by Rwanda’s 2003 Constitution stating women occupy 30 percent of all government decision-making bodies.