A series of events are taking place all across Somalia on the occasion of International Women’s Day, celebrated globally on 8 March 2018.
In Garoowe, a high level event, with the attendance of the President and other key government and public figures will take place on 8 March 2018 to celebrate International Women’s Day, stressing actions on eliminating violence against women. Following it, a gathering of women in 9 regions to speak up on issues of sexual violence and other forms of violence will occur in Puntland. A girls’ symposium will unite intergenerational voices to foster understanding, dialogue and social action on critical issues facing girls in Puntland. The event will promote an honest conversation about gender equity in our times with trailblazers in women’s and girls’ rights.
Moreover, a community mobilization through national forums will be held, targeting both men and women, boys and girls, and other stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders with specific focus on groups of women and girls who face multiple forms of discrimination. The aim is to raise public awareness on manifestations and impact of violence against women and girls including rape and gang rapes. All along, mass media campaigns with specific messages on tackling violence against women and girls covering the mass marches will be taking place in the different region.
In Mogadishu, UNESCO is supporting the Benadir Chapter of the National Coordination Platform on Women, Peace and Security to organize one-day event in celebration of International Women’s Day.
The Ambassador of Sweden to Somalia, Andreas von Uexkull, with International Media Support (IMS) and Fojo Media Institute will launch the first the first ever WikiGap event in Mogadishu, Somalia on 8 March 2018 at Peace Hotel. WikiGap is an initiative by Swedish embassies and Wikimedia to gather people around the world to increase the representation of articles about women on Wikipedia – and also highlight the need for articles written by women. Although Wikipedia is the world’s largest online and user-generated encyclopedia, there is great imbalance in terms of the production of content, with ninety per cent of those who add content being men. There are more than four times as many articles about men as there are about women. The figures vary regionally, but the picture is clear: information about women is less extensive than that about men.
Fresh content about Somali women produced by Somali women uploaded onto Somali Wikipedia will be presented during the event and there will be a panel discussion on the impact of women in society and the importance of making influential women in Somalia more visible.
Finally, in Hargeisa, a girl’s symposium will be held, to allow a safe place for young women to express themselves and to organize a network of advocates to advance policy, intergenerational relationships, and opportunities for the next generation of women in school, career and life.
In the framework of International Women’s Day and the UNESCO Initiative Women Make the News 2018, breaking gender stereotypes and promoting equal participation of women in media outlets, UNESCO, in collaboration with Media INK and UN Women, produced profiles of Somali women who broke the glass ceiling and are media professionals, news reporters and journalists in Somalia.
