The world needs to stop watching and Listen to the women and girls of Afghanistan

Diana Mboi

African countries have come a long way with regards to women empowerment and emancipation. Women rights organizations have aggressively championed the rights of women and girls from demos to strikes. We have come a long way as a continent, and we still have a long way to go in championing women rights. Fragile Somali culture has traditionally operated as a patriarchal society where men make financial and family decisions. After Somalia gained its independence from colonial powers in 1960, both men and women were given the right to vote. This led to increased participation of women in public life from the 1970s to the 1980s. Female school enrollment, women in the workplace, and women's participation in politics and the military all increased during that time. The Family Law of 1975 gave equal rights to women and men regarding marriage, divorce, and inheritance of property and restricted polygamy. Before the rise of religious extremism in Somali women enjoyed equal rights, equal opportunities, but after Somalia became a failed state the rights of women became compromised, could what happened to Afghanistan happen again? Or could it be a worst case scenario? This are the conversations going around on social media, as insurgency rises in Somalia and as AMISOM plans to exit Somalia.  

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