Looma Ooyaan – No One Cries for Them: The Predicament Facing Somalia’s Minority Women

Minority Rights Group International and IIDA Women’s Development Organization report launch

Minority Somali women and girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence due to poverty, marginalization and discriminatory attitudes, but this is often ignored by the authorities and the clans, say Minority Rights Group International (MRG) and IIDA Women’s Development Organisation in a new report.

The report, Looma Ooyan – No one cries for them: The Predicament Facing Somalia’s Minority Women, says the perpetrators of these abuses include members of dominant clans, militias and security forces, as well as men from minority communities. It also details the widespread impunity surrounding violence against minority women and girls and the challenges they face in accessing justice, and following incidents of sexual assault.

The report will be launched at an event in Nairobi, Kenya, at the Sarova Panafric Hotel on Friday January 30 2015 between 9.00 – 13.00. The event will be officiated by the EU Special Envoy and Ambassador to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso.

As of 2014, Somalia had still not signed the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination againstWomen. The report concludes by emphasizing that the inclusion of minority women is the only way lasting peace and stability can be achieved in Somalia.

Notes to editors

• The report will be available for free download on MRG’s website and IIDA’s website on 30 January 2015
• Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is the leading international human rights organization working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples. We work with more than 150 partners in over 50 countries.
• IIDA Women’s Development Organization is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 1991. It is the largest women’s movement in Somalia represented in different regions of the country, and works towards women’s empowerment and the promotion of sustainable development. Their neutrality makes IIDA diverse and compatible with stakeholders, among them governernment officials, politicians, religious leaders, clan elders and minorities in Somalia. IIDA has earned the respect of the Somali Community which enbles them to penetrate the grassroots even at times when internatonal organizations are unable.

To confirm your presence at the launch event in Nairobi, to arrange interviews with MRG spokespeople and our Somali partners, or receive an embargoed copy of the report please contact one of the below:

• MRG Press Office – [email protected]
• Mariam Yassin Hagi Yussuf, IIDA Executive Director – [email protected], [email protected]
• Fatima Gure – [email protected], [email protected]