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STORY: SOMALIA / WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS
TRT: 03:27
SOURCE: UNSOM
RESTRICTIONS: CREDIT REQUIRED
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SOMALI / NATS
DATELINE: 24 APRIL 2017, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
1. Wide shot, Speaker of the House of the People addressing the conferencees
2. Various shots, Somali women parliamentarians
3. Close up shot, Somali women parliamentarians listening
4. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, Speaker of the House of the People, Somalia:
“I believe the quality of women leadership whether in parliament, the executive or civil society, depends on their training to promote their leadership qualities and address women’s issues and specific leadership qualities.”
3. Wide shot, Minister of Women and Human Rights Deeqa Yasin Yusuf talking
4. Med shot, parliamentarians
5. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Deeqa Yasin Yusuf, Minister of Women and Human Rights, Somalia:
“I know that if we become united -- the women MPs in regional states and the Federal Parliament, the ministers and members of civil society working on women’s issues -- our voice will be heard and we can attain our goals.”
6. Various shots, parliamentarians
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hon. Betty Amongi, Ugandan Member of Parliament:
“That chair is for women. You’re supposed to sleep and walk and think of what are you going to do for the women of Somalia. Don’t think that I should behave well so that next time my tribe picks me. No, you should dream and work to think of what are you doing to shape the life of the women of Somalia.”
8. Various shots, parliamentarians
9. Wide shot, conference
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Kimberly Smiddy, Parliamentary Specialist with UNDP Somalia:
“We wanted to bring all these women together so that when they are in their
Constituencies, when they are out there working, they know they’re not alone. That they have fellow women all over the country doing similar work and through networking, they can feel empowered.”
11. Wide shot, conference
12. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Bibi Khalif Mohamed, Chairperson of Somalia Women’s Parliamentary Caucus:
“Our agenda is to develop the Somali women’s issues for which we are responsible and show that our country’s good governance and democracy are maturing.”
13. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Maryan Moalimu Isaak, MP from South West State:
“I hope this conference will come up with ideas. We have been introduced to one another to start campaigning for women’s rights, how the women’s agenda will be developed in the two Houses and in the regional states and also enable civil society, regions and districts to look for women’s rights at all levels.”
14. Wide shot, UNDP Country Director, George Conway, attending the conference
15. SOUNDBITE: (English) George Conway, UNDP Country Director
“At the state level, there has been increased representation in the state assemblies in, in Galmudug, in Jubbaland, in HirShabelle and in South West in particular, with South West now having 21 percent representation in parliament. This is tremendous progress from the situation previously.”
16. Wide shot, parliamentarians attending the conference
Somali women parliamentarians attended the opening of the first annual consultative conference since the conclusion of the 2016 electoral process to discuss their roles in legislative assemblies.
The conference was opened by the Speaker of the House of the People, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, and participants have been drawn from the federal parliament and regional assemblies, the executive branch of the federal government and civil society.
The Speaker told the two-day conference that there was a need to strengthen the agenda of women members of parliament (MPs) to address the challenges they face.
“I believe the quality of women leadership whether in parliament, the executive or civil society, depends on their training to promote their leadership qualities and address women’s issues”, Mr. Jawari added.
The federal Minister for Women and Human Rights, Hon. Deeqa Yasin Yusuf, called on women members of regional and federal parliaments to forge unity in order to achieve their goals.
“I know if we become united -- the women MPs in regional states and federal parliament, the ministers and members of the civil society working on women issues -- our voice will be heard, and we can attain our goals”, the Minister added.
Hon. Betty Amongi, a Ugandan MP who is also a parliamentary gender expert, reminded participants that some had benefitted from the 30 percent parliamentary gender quota that was adopted for the 2016 electoral process.
“You’re supposed to sleep and walk and think of what are you going to do for the women of Somalia. Don’t think that I should behave well so that next time my tribe picks me. You should dream and work to think of what are you doing to shape the life of the women of Somalia,” said Ms. Amongi.
An MP from South West State, Hon. Maryan Moalimu Isaak, said the conference would galvanize women in all sectors to develop an agenda for Somalia. The chairperson of the Somalia Women Parliamentary Caucus, Hon.Bibi Khalif Mohamed, welcomed the conference as an indication that the country’s democracy is maturing.
In his opening remarks, the UNDP Country Director for Somalia, George Conway, lauded the progress made in last year’s electoral process, noting that there has been an increase in gender representation in state assemblies in South West, Galmudug, Jubbaland, HirShabelle and Puntland.
The conference is taking place three months after the conclusion of the electoral process that increased the number of women federal MPs from 14 percent in the 2012-2016 parliament to 24 per cent in the current parliament.
