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OO RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #1409/01 1880710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070710Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0225
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RUZEFAA/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 001409 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ECON KWMN SOCI KCUL SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Women, the Victims of Violence 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Escalating violence in the past two months has claimed the 
lives of an estimated 250 Somalis, has injured more than 1500, and 
has driven thousands from their homes.  Increasingly, women are 
being directly targeted and are bearing the brunt of the conflict's 
devastating consequences.  Somali women have told us that there has 
been an upsurge in brutal attacks against women, as well as of 
rapes, kidnappings, and killings.  The rise in violence has spurred 
an accelerated flight of women and their families from Mogadishu and 
surrounding areas.  Because of the violence, local markets have shut 
down and others, like Bakara market, are now completely under 
al-Shabaab control.  Without daily access to markets, women have 
lost critical income-generating opportunities.  Al-Shabaab has 
brought with it a brand of Islam that further limits opportunities 
for women and girls, resulting in increased social segregation.  In 
addition, Somalis fear targeting and retaliation by al-Shabaab 
should they attempt to resist or counter its influence.  Although 
many NGO leaders and international organizations have withdrawn from 
Mogadishu,women with whom we spoke offered concrete proposals for 
ways to immediately and directly impact the lives of Somalia's most 
vulnerable populations.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
Women Increasingly Targeted 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The recent surge in violence, especially in Mogadishu, has 
had a profound impact on Somalia's most vulnerable populations, 
especially women.  During a series of individual and small group 
discussions, Somali women - including those inside the country, 
those who have recently fled, and women in the Diaspora - voiced 
several concerns.  They told us of an upsurge in brutal attacks 
against women, including killings, rape, and kidnapping.   (Note: 
While this type of violence is not new in Somalia, the frequency and 
the systematic nature of it appear to be increasing.  End note.) 
Like men, women who lead local NGOs or run businesses, or those who 
are associated with the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), are 
reportedly increasingly targeted.  Kadija Ali, president of the 
board of SAACID, an NGO working in South Central Somalia to improve 
the lives of women and children, related the account of a 
businesswoman who was shot in the head and killed in Mogadishu on 
June 25.  The woman was considered too "outspoken" and was directly 
targeted because of her leadership role in the community.  Our 
contacts told us that attacks like this have become commonplace. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Asli Duale, a 46-year old Mogadishu-born women's rights 
activist who left the capital just a few days ago, recounted 
numerous recent attacks.  On July 1, three women who were accused of 
being informants for the TFG were brutally killed.  The week of June 
22, a 14-year-old girl in Mogadishu's contested Karan district went 
out in the morning to fetch baking ingredients from a local shop, 
and was captured by insurgents.  The young girl was raped and 
beaten, and is still in the hospital.  Duale spoke of another recent 
victim, a woman in her early 30s who sold khat in the Shibis 
district.  Insurgents, who had been taking khat from her without 
paying, later kidnapped the woman, drove her miles away from 
Mogadishu, tortured, and eventually killed her. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Gender-based violence is a major problem, and not just in 
southern Somalia.  A UNHCR senior protection officer based in 
Hargeisa (Somaliland) noted that "rape is common and underreported," 
both within villages and in internally displaced persons (IDP) 
camps.  She alleged to us that women are frequently beaten.  Several 
of our contacts have also noted a rising problem of fistula among 
women, as many who flee their homes in southern Somalia as the 
result of conflict are forced to give birth on the road. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Lost Economic Opportunities: 
Markets Close and Many Forced to Flee 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The economic ramifications of the escalating violence 
disproportionately affect women.  During the last 18 years, Somali 
women had often become the main breadwinners, as men had either 
joined the fighting or been less successful in finding employment. 
Several women acknowledged that because women are less educated than 
men, they have had a harder time, but in many cases have been able 
 
NAIROBI 00001409  002 OF 003 
 
 
support their families through small trade or business, often 
selling vegetables or goods at local markets.  Today, many of those 
markets are closed.  Bakara market, the largest in Mogadishu, is now 
completely controlled by al-Shabaab, and many women have told us 
that it is now off-limits for anyone but allies of the extremists. 
In addition, many of the poorest had relied on a day-labor market, 
which has now virtually disappeared. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Our contacts told us that more than ever before, there are 
severe risks associated with daily life in the capital.  After the 
August 2008 roadside bomb that killed 20 and injured 47 others, most 
of whom were women cleaning Mogadishu streets, women are 
increasingly fearful of conducting their daily activities, working, 
or engaging in small-scale business. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The recent violence has also forced more and more families 
to flee their homes, either to other areas of the country, congested 
IDP camps, or outside of the country.  Women predominantly lead this 
flight, especially within Somalia, as men are increasingly recruited 
to take arms.  "The whole struggle is on women's shoulders," noted a 
female, Bossaso-based project officer for Mercy Corps, who is in 
charge of emergency response to the influx of IDPs in Puntland. 
Rather than leaving the country, many women have sought safety in 
other regions like Puntland, Somaliland, and in other areas within 
Mogadishu.  Mogadishu, once with a population of roughly 1.6 
million, is estimated to have about 650,000 people remaining - half 
of whom are too poor to leave.  Duale told us, "We are running from 
bullets.  The first thing you think of is to take your children and 
run far away, but you cannot manage because there are bullets 
everywhere - people are desperate."  Some women hire wheelbarrows 
and trucks to take small bags of their possessions - food, their 
children's clothes, charcoal, small kitchen goods with them to safer 
areas.  Others flee with nothing. 
 
------------------------ 
Changes in Women's Roles 
------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) Many of the older Somali women we talked with in Nairobi 
spoke about how women's roles have changed over the last twenty 
years.  Religious conservatism and extremism have most noticeably 
impacted women.  Dahabo Omar Mohamed, an older Somali woman who left 
Mogadishu in February 2008 - but continues to serve as a contact for 
the Coalition for Grassroots Women Organizations (COGWO) - noted 
that under Siad Barre's regime, the "law was there for women," even 
if it was not fully implemented.  At that time, primary education 
was required for both boys and girls.  Today, many public schools 
have closed or been targeted, and the gender disparity within 
schools has widened.  According to UNFPA, approximately one fifth of 
the population is literate (19.2 per cent), and there are 10 boys 
for every 8 girls in primary school; in secondary school, the ratio 
is 10 to 5. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Hibo Yassin, the chairwoman of the Somali Women Agenda, an 
umbrella organization based in Nairobi, spoke of the days when it 
was common for women to do everything alongside men - attend school, 
play sports, work in agriculture, and move around the community. 
Today, she noted that girls are no longer allowed to fully 
participate in social and economic activities.  Women now cover 
themselves completely, and leave the house less, or risk being 
targeted.  Our contacts told us even old women are forced to sit in 
the back of buses in al-Shabaab-controlled areas, and are whipped if 
they sit in front.  Sahra Omar Maalin, chair of IIDA, an influential 
women's rights organization, said "Our culture has completely 
changed" and noted that today, the insurgents "make us shy." 
 
----------------------------- 
Women Too Fearful To Organize 
----------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) When asked whether women in Mogadishu are organizing, 
Asli Duale replied "how can you organize anything when you are 
running from a flying bullet?"  Dahabo Mohamed, who routinely speaks 
to many of her sister organizations in Somalia, told us, "Today, 
women can't go anywhere.  No one wants women to be involved.  In 
this period, you can't lobby for women's rights because everyone is 
paralyzed."  Many of the local NGO leaders we spoke with left the 
country in recent months, even after staying and working during the 
last, turbulent twenty years. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) With direct targeting of community leaders, suicide 
 
NAIROBI 00001409  003 OF 003 
 
 
bombings, and recent retaliations, women and community leaders are 
much more hesitant to organize, for fear of the wrath of al-Shabaab. 
 They told us that al-Shabaab's intelligence operation is so 
sophisticated that it launches attacks as soon as it senses 
organized resistance.  Our contacts described a climate of terror 
that has engulfed communities in recent weeks, making everyone 
fearful of what will happen next.  Asli Duale noted, "Somalia is not 
the place where you can demonstrate. You don't have that access - 
women are just running with their children."  Kadija Ali said that 
"if al-Shabaab comes we are buried alive.  They don't have an agenda 
for Somalia; their agenda is global.  The TFG is at least backed by 
the West, and there women can shout." 
 
---------------------------------- 
International Organizations Absent 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Many Somali women emphasized that despite the 
humanitarian crisis, and worsening situation for women and children, 
they feel that the international community has completely 
disappeared from the scene.  "The NGOs are the ones who run fast," 
one woman noted.  "They are targeted and they have the means to 
leave."  The most educated Somalis have also fled.  Hawa, the 
country director of SAACID who continues to run a wet feeding 
program in Mogadishu, said that she would be surprised if there were 
even a dozen doctors left in Mogadishu, and that nurses were now 
performing surgery. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Women overwhelmingly expressed a sense of desperation and 
urgency in their need to tell the world what is happening, but 
lamented their lack of capacity.  They spoke of the international 
community being "tired of Somalia after twenty years."  Many feel 
that donors distrust local Somali NGOs.  Resources are 
overwhelmingly diverted to UN agencies, which remain "removed from 
reality because they must work from Nairobi."  The women felt that 
"remote control" of local organizations in the field had failed, as 
funding and capacity have yet to be transferred to Somali 
organizations.  Equally, many Somali women voiced a distrust of the 
international community.  "I don't see anything moving," Hawa noted. 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
Addressing the Gaps and Looking Ahead 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Women spoke with overwhelming despair about the situation 
in Somalia, especially with the escalating violence of recent weeks. 
 Despite this sense of desperation, women identified key areas where 
local and international organizations could make a difference for 
women.  These include: immediate supplies (food, medical supplies, 
wheelchairs, etc.), basic maternal healthcare services so women can 
give birth safely, reproductive health education for girls, services 
to deal with gender-based violence, adult education for women, 
micro-credit, and skills training.  These programs can be realized 
through financial support and capacity building of local NGOs who 
continue to work on these issues, both in south central Somalia as 
well as within IDP camps. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Our contacts detailed stories of increased killings and 
abuse of women and the widespread victimization of girls and women 
in the country.  Yet they also emphasized Somali women's strength, 
resiliency, courage, and creativity in the face of the violence. 
Many women travel back and forth to the country, have started 
organizations to help women and refugees, and are seeking ways to 
amplify their voices.  However, Somali women face considerable 
challenges and are increasingly constrained by the growing influence 
of al-Shabaab.  We are reaching out to those Somali NGOs and women's 
associations which remain active, despite the enormous risk, to 
identify areas where we can directly assist women in their efforts 
to care for their families, gain skills, secure economic 
opportunities, and ensure that their voices are not silenced by the 
insecurity and instability that continues to plague Somalia. 
 
RANNEBERGER