International Women’s Day, 2011: Time to Make the Promise of Equality a Reality

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the United Nations Country Team website is highlighting the lives of Somali women, their struggle and their achievements. The UN as one recognises that Somali women are suffering due to the ongoing conflict which is currently exacerbated by the drought. 

The UN supports women in many ways in Somalia. Since 2008, some 1.3 million women have been vaccinated against neonatal tetanus across the country, including in Mogadishu. In 2010, more than 77,000 girls were newly enrolled in schools across the country and at least 1,520 women were treated for weapon-related wounds in the three main hospitals in Mogadishu.

International Women’s Day is an opportunity for us all to remember the circumstances in which women live in Somalia, suffering from poverty, lack of basic services, violence and drought. It is also reminds us what we are all working towards, together, in the UN, as one.