Women leaders in Somalia are intensifying their push for better representation in politics. The women leaders in an Open Day event met with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Somalia Mr. Michael Keating in Mogadishu today as part of celebrations of International Women’s Day.

The event was attended by women leaders from the government—Federal and State, members of Parliament and the civil society.

In his remarks, SRSG Keating noted that good progress has been made in addressing the challenges facing women, citing the recent agreement reached on the electoral model to be used in electing legislators in the Lower and Upper Houses of the federal parliament in 2016.  

He described the agreement that stipulates 30% of the reserved seats for women in both houses as a major step forward.

But, he cautioned women leaders to resist the temptation of getting embroiled in clan politics, adding that such a move would derail their efforts in pushing for equal rights and influence how the country will be governed.

“That means not getting stuck in discussions about 4.5 but saying we need to put in place the architecture whereby we can have proper elections. We want an electoral commission, a census, a voter registration, an electoral law, and political parties. We don’t want 4.5 because it’s just not the way for women to realize their political ambitions,” said Mr. Keating.

Somalia’s Federal Minister of Health, Ms. Hawa Mohamed Hassan, challenged women to speak up and be ready to fill the 30 percent quota reserved for them in the next parliament.

The minister stressed that only women of integrity, who are ready to serve the interest of Somali women and who can articulate women’s issues, would be considered in elective positions, to stop individuals with various interest interfering with the process.

Somali Federal Minister for Women and Human Rights, Ms. Zahra Mohamed Ali Samantar, warned that the country’s future would be bleak if the role of women was not recognized and prioritized.

“If we don’t prioritize the role of women as the backbone of life of the nation, the future of the country will be bleak,” the Minister added.

The chair of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee, Ms. Mariam Arif Qassim, said her committee had proposed ways of ensuring the 30-percent quota was enshrined in the constitution by using the ministerial route instead of parliament, which demanded a higher threshold.

The open day was aimed at creating an opportunity for women leaders to discuss issues of critical importance with the SRSG.

There is a concern that under the 4.5 formula, women’s political empowerment might remain an elusive agenda as the provision for 30% reserved seats is yet to be enshrined in the constitution.

This year, Somalia is working to deliver a National Development Plan for 2017-2020 advantage of that must also be taken to consolidate gains made on gender equality and further empower women.

The Federal Constitutional review will also be concluded in 2016, another opportunity to institutional women’s rights and political participation and the opportunity must be seized.