The deaths of three women in one week, all allegedly murdered by their husbands, has caused outrage in Somalia and sparked days of protests over the country’s femicide rates.
The authorities have identified the individuals responsible for the three murders that occurred during the initial week of February as the husbands of the deceased women. Two of the victims were expecting mothers. Despite being a country that has been plagued by death and violence for over thirty years, there have been protests in the capital city of Mogadishu. Demonstrators have been displaying signs with images of Lul Abdi Aziz Jazirain while she was hospitalized. The 28-year-old was drenched in gasoline and burned. She sustained serious injuries and was in excruciating pain for seven days before succumbing to her injuries.
According to her brother, Amudi Abdi Aziz Jazira, the neighbors overheard a heated dispute and later forced open a locked door to rescue the severely burned woman and transport her to the hospital.
At the airport in Mogadishu, where she was employed, Jazira, 28, encountered her second husband. She was a widow with six children at the time.
Her brother commented, “I believed they were a happy couple.”
Sadiq Dudishe, a spokesperson for the police, stated that the individual had traveled to a location where intense conflict was occurring between the government and Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group that has held power in Somalia for 17 years.
Dudishe stated that it was challenging to apprehend the man due to the heightened sense of insecurity, resulting in a delay in locating and apprehending him. Currently, the individual is under arrest in Mogadishu.
In Qoryoley’s southern district, Saleban Haji Abdi was taken into custody and accused of fatally stabbing Fus Mahfud Mohamed, 22 years old. He is suspected of assaulting his wife of seven years, who was expecting their fourth child, on February 3rd.
Mahfud Mohamed Haji, the father of Mohamed, stated that any disagreements between the pair were previously resolved by their families using the traditional Somali legal system called xeer.
Haji stated that he consistently utilized our traditional system to facilitate mediation. However, the disputes persisted and eventually he removed himself from the situation.
Due to the recent floods that had damaged the roads, he was unable to attend his daughter’s funeral.
The police stated that the killer carefully planned the time and place of the murder, and also dismembered Mohamed’s body.
The identity of the third female victim has not been disclosed, however authorities claim that a woman was fatally shot by her spouse in the Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia.
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A man was apprehended on February 4th in Afgoye, near Mogadishu, outside his home with gasoline and matches. According to police, bystanders intervened to prevent him from setting his wife and children on fire.
The head of the Somali Women Development Centre, Maryam Taqal Huseina, stated that demonstrations would persist until the three women received fair treatment.
She stated that in Somalia, women are required to remain quiet. She also believed that these women were killed to silence them. She declared that they will persist in speaking up until there is progress.
Huseina stated that a significant number of individuals, particularly men, either condone or tolerate acts of domestic violence and other forms of mistreatment towards women as a norm in society.
“Due to the rise of social media, there has been an increase in a variety of forms of abuse. This includes instances where girls are drugged, raped, and recorded without their consent. In some cases, these videos are then sold on various social media platforms.”
Governor Yusuf Husain Jimale of Benadir district in Mogadishu has pledged financial assistance for children in Jazira. However, there are concerns about the adequacy of the government’s efforts.
Somalia does not have a specific law prohibiting domestic violence.
A sexual offences bill, supported by the UN, was introduced in 2018 but has yet to be approved by parliament. In 2020, a new bill regarding sexual intercourse crimes was suggested. This bill would ease age limitations, permitting marriage at puberty and legalizing forced marriage with familial consent.
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Naima Said Salah is a female writer for the media team Bilan in Somalia. The media team is funded by the European Union through the UN Development Programme and is hosted by Dalsan Media Group in Mogadishu.
Source: theguardian.com
