Qaad is the name of a plant (catha edulis) cultivated in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen in particular. When chewed the leaves produce a mildly stimulating sensation and result in a loss of appetite. Qaad was banned for a while under Siad Barre. Chewed mainly by men, but also increasingly by women, it is […]

Somali pastoralists use risk-averting strategies to survive and measures to predict and adjust to ecological dynamics. Multi-species herding in different ecological zones, and splitting the herds into different grazing areas, are the most common strategies. They maximise their herd size and keep high proportions of female animals for rapid recovery from lean times. They have […]

The transformation of a girl from childhood, adolescence to adulthood is mirrored and signified by changes made to her hairstyle; her age and status can be determined by her hairstyle and the different names given to different styles. As an infant and until she reaches the age of circumcision at six or seven years her […]

Somali society is a strongly patriarchal one. Sets of families (qoys), each with a male head, and usually related through the male line, settle and move together, forming a reer. Women continue to be members of their reer even after they have married and moved away to live with their husband’s family, and this provides […]

Pastoralism, the movement of households following seasonal grazing patterns, has been practised among Somalis for centuries. The movements of pastoralists and their livestock are directed by the seasons and by the availability of grass and water. In Somalia there are two rainy seasons (gu’ and dayr) and two dry seasons (haggaa and jilaal). Pastoralists move […]

Rhoda M. Ibrahim After a journey so long and tiring indeed, Like a fully loaded camel, tired as you are under the load, You at last set a camp, beside a hamlet with no blood ties to you, Your livestock will need, to be always kept in sight, Your beast of burden will need to […]

Editors’ introduction ‘Colka ninka soo arkay iyo kan loogo warama si ugama wada cararaan.’ Somali proverb, which translates as ‘the one who experiences conflict and the one who hears about it will have different fears’.1 During a workshop in 1997 which brought together the contribu­tors of this book, women from various regions of Somalia shared […]

Does war change gender relations? Does it provide opportunities for improvements in women’s status? There have been both setbacks and gains for women. They have borne the brunt of the stress on marriage and the family that the Somalia conflict has engendered. Exploring how conflict has affected the institution of marriage, Halimo Elmi points out […]

What impact does conflict have on women’s perception of their social position and hence on their potential for social activism, either as individuals or groups? If their experiences of conflict lead them to develop their role as carers, does their record of achievement create space for them to be accepted into the political arena? Do […]

The book aims to reflect the experiences and perceptions of Somali women in and about war. It seeks to contribute to our understand­ing of the conflict in Somalia, and hence of conflict as a phenomenon. Describing war entirely through the eyes of women, the commentaries and testimonies show just how cataclysmic the Somalia conflict was […]