Police officer Amino Ali Hiirey champions women and girls' rights

Amino Ali Hiirey is a police officer with the Hiiraan police service and a fierce champion of women’s rights.

17 Apr 2017

Police officer Amino Ali Hiirey champions women and girls' rights

Amino Ali Hiirey is a police officer working in one of the most dangerous countries to police - Somalia.

She is among hundreds of police officers contributing to the reconstruction of the country’s law enforcement agencies, following the collapse of the central government and public institutions, at the onset of the civil war in 1991.

As a gender officer with the Hiiraan police, Amino, who is based in the regional capital Belet Weyne, is a fierce champion of women’s rights, and uses her position to ensure cases of human rights abuses against women, are conclusively resolved.

“The Somali police force is a women friendly force and I am a friend to the women of Belet Weyne. I draw a great deal of satisfaction out of helping mothers and girls who suffer in their homes,” Amino noted.

Since joining the police force Amino has sought to find justice for women and girls who are victims of domestic violence; and many others who suffer rape and other forms of sexual abuse.

A result oriented officer, Amino has successfully pursued cases of abuse of women, many of which resulted in the arrest of the perpetrators. This has earned her the trust of women in Belet Weyne.

Amino represents the new face of law enforcement in Somalia, where sexual gender based violence is met with the full force of the law.

She goes beyond her call of duty, organising outreach activities to raise public awareness about gender-based violence.

Born and bred in Belet Weyne, Amino’s childhood dream was to be in law enforcement.  That dream came true in 2012, after she enrolled as a police recruit, later joining the Somali Police Force, after undergoing a basic course in policing.

Her diligence to duty is unquestionable, as she walks the streets of Belet Weyne daily in the blistering heat, to solve some of the women’s most pressing problems.

She credits her commitment to work to the training she received during her policing course.

“My colleagues and I are deeply indebted to our trainers for the knowledge we acquired, that has helped us bring governance and law and order closer to the people of Belet Weyne,” Amino states.

Training on standard policing practices, public engagement, modalities of dissipating tensions and creating an enabling environment for businesses and people to thrive, are just some of the topics that Amino studied during her policing course.

Even as Amino acknowledges that Somalia still has a long way to go in terms of policing and the maintenance of law and order; she is full of hope that the future holds a lot of promise for her country, especially for its women and girls.