Violence Against Women and Girls Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) According to 2011 data, over 96% of women in Somaliland between the ages of 15 and 49 had undergone FGM/C.63 In early 2018, a fatwa (religious ban) was issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Government of Somaliland stating as follows: “It’s forbidden to perform any circumcision that is contrary to the religion which involves cutting and sewing up, like the pharaoh circumcision. Any girl who suffers from pharaoh circumcision will be eligible for compensation depending on the extent of the wound, and the violation caused. Anyone proven to be performing the practice will receive punishment depending on the extent of the violation.” The content of this Fatwa exhibits a lack of commitment to addressing the root causes of FGM/C, and perpetuates the misconception that FGM/C is a matter of the Islamic faith. In reality, FGM/C is not defined as a religious obligation in any of the sacred Islamic texts and is practiced across many countries and cultures of different religious affiliations.64 However, the rise of political Islam, which relies heavily on the repression of women, has been more than happy to artificially include FGM/C in their long list of strategies to regulate women’s bodies, public presence, and social interaction.65 The Fatwa is further damaging because, by only establishing the Fatwa against certain types of FGM/C (type 2 and type 3), the Fatwa implicitly legitimizes type 1 FGM/C, which was and continues to be the most commonly practiced form of FGM/C in Somaliland. The fact that this legitimizing discourse has been issued from the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ position of moral authority, may prove to be a powerful push factor in favor of increasing or maintaining the practice of type 1 FGM/C in Somaliland.66 To date, the Somaliland government has not taken any further steps to clarify its position regarding either the fatwa or the FGM/C Zero tolerance campaign.
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Although the overall state policy framework purports to be supportive of women’s rights, the reality is that hardly any progress is being made toward addressing gender-based discrimination in Somaliland. The government has shown a particular reluctance to address the high prevalence of SGBV in the country, which is specifically exemplified by the perpetrator impunity within the traditional elders’ justice system in handling rape cases. The Somaliland government is still very consistent in maintaining the power of the traditional clan elders when it comes to
UNICEF, 2019 SIHA Network, 2018a 65 Healy & Bradbury, 2010; Jama, G, 2019; SIHA Network, 2015; SIHA Network, 2018b 66 SIHA Network, 2018a 63
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Reflection on Gender Equality Agenda in Somaliland
Page No. 19
