Social media outrage has surged after Somalia’s Family Minister, Gen Bashir Mohamed Jama, posted photos of himself and another male delegate attending a UN conference on women’s issues in New York. Critics argue the Somali government’s decision to have men prominently represent women’s issues at the event is tone-deaf.
Prominent author and human rights activist Fathiya Absie criticized the choice, saying, “It is tone-deaf for the Somali government to have men on the frontline, representing women at the conference.” Two female delegates from Somalia were also present at the event but were not included in the photos shared online.
Only 21 men attended among 197 delegates from 57 countries, with the majority being women. A group photo from the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network event showed Gen Jama front and center, fueling further criticism.
Adding to the discontent, in July, Somalia renamed its Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development to the Ministry of Family and Human Rights Development, a move that critics say erases women’s issues by subsuming them under a broader “family” category.
