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The Wives of Al-Shabaab

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The Wives of Al-Shabaab Adam Smith Adam Smith International Married in the Shadows: The Wives of al-Shabaab Dr .Orly Stern Rehabilitation Support Team (RST), 2020 Married in the Shadows: The Wives of al-Shabaab Dr Orly Maya Stern Rehabilitation Support Team Adam Smith International June 2020 Acknowledgements The author of this report would like to thank the Federal Government of Somalia, the Defector’s Rehabilitation Programme, Somalia’s Ministry of Internal Security and Baidoa’s Ministry of Internal Security, as well as the staff of the Somali National Women Organisation, the International Organisation for Migration and Serendi rehabilitation centre, for their assistance in conducting this research. She would also like to thank her colleagues in the Rehabilitation Support Team, for their ongoing support and input into this research. 1 Table of Contents Table of Acronyms ............................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 6 Research challenges ......................................................................................................... 7 National Programme for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants ... 8 Al-Shabaab ........................................................................................................................... 9 Life for women in al-Shabaab territory ............................................................................ 10 Al-Shabaab and marriage .................................................................................................. 12 Al-Shabaab men finding wives ...................................................................................... 14 Women choosing al-Shabaab husbands ...................................................................... 15 Forced marriages ............................................................................................................ 16 Abduction ......................................................................................................................... 18 Wife inheritance ............................................................................................................... 19 Violence against women ................................................................................................... 19 Divorce ................................................................................................................................ 21 Wives finding out that their husbands are al-Shabaab .................................................. 22 Wives feelings about their husband’s membership .................................................... 23 Changes in marriages ..................................................................................................... 24 Contact between militants and their wives ..................................................................... 24 Wives’ lives when husbands are in al-Shabaab .............................................................. 26 Treatment by communities ............................................................................................. 28 Wives participating in al-Shabaab .................................................................................... 28 The roles played by wives .............................................................................................. 30 Wives’ lives when husbands defect ................................................................................. 31 Why wives left al-Shabaab territory ................................................................................. 32 Ideology ............................................................................................................................ 32 The need for services ..................................................................................................... 32 Searching for safety ........................................................................................................ 33 Death of husband ............................................................................................................ 34 Wife inheritance ............................................................................................................... 35 Husbands defecting ........................................................................................................ 35 Divorce or separating from husbands .......................................................................... 35 2 The wives of Kismayo ....................................................................................................... 36 After leaving al-Shabaab ................................................................................................... 37 Poverty ............................................................................................................................. 38 Stigma .............................................................................................................................. 38 Sexual exploitation .......................................................................................................... 39 Fear of al-Shabaab .......................................................................................................... 39 Programming for wives ..................................................................................................... 40 Lessons learned from the women’s pilots .................................................................... 40 Bringing more women bacK from al-Shabaab territory ............................................... 42 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 43 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 45 3 Table of Acronyms AMISOM The African Union Mission in Somalia AS al-Shabaab ASI Adam Smith International BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CRD Centre for Research and Dialogue DDR Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration DRP Defector’s Rehabilitation Programme FCA Finn Church Aid FGS Federal Government of Somalia FMS Federal Member State GBV Gender Based Violence HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HRW Human Rights Watch ICG International Crisis Group IDP Internally Displaced Persons IOM International Organisation for Migration ISIS Islamic State MOIS Ministry of Internal Security NISA National Intelligence Security Agency NP National Programme for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants RST Rehabilitation Support Team SN Stabilisation NetWork SNA Somali National Army SPF Somali Police Force SNWO Somali National Women’s Organisation UN United Nations 4 Introduction Waging a successful insurgency, requires an enabling community. Militants tend to have Wives and families Who support and facilitate them. Fighters and their families form a complex web – an interconnected system that needs to be understood, to truly comprehend the Workings of an armed group. A key – yet under-studied – part of this picture, are the Wives of militants. This report looks at the Wives of al-Shabaab’s militants; members of the Somali Islamist group embroiled in a conflict With Somalia’s government and people; the group responsible for one of the deadliest insurgencies in Africa. This report explores the roles that al-Shabaab’s Wives play in supporting their husbands and the group. It asks, to What extent are Wives also ‘members’ or ‘participants’ of al-Shabaab? Do Wives support their husband’s membership, or do they oppose this? Where they oppose this, are their voices able to influence their husbands? Can Wives leaving, or threatening to leave, play a part in encouraging men’s defection from the group? Does the prospect of leaving Wives behind in al-Shabaab territory, form a barrier to men defecting? HoW can We harness this knoWledge in programming aimed at degrading the group? This report seeks to understand What Wives’ lives are like When living in al-Shabaab territory, While their husbands serve the group. For those Wives Who eventually leave – leaving their husbands and leaving al-Shabaab territory – the study seeks to understand Why they left, What Was the catalyst for them leaving, What their journeys out Were like and What aWaited them in government-held territory. The study looks at the limited programming available, aimed at assisting al-Shabaab Wives, and considers hoW best assistance may be provided to this group – and hoW assisting these Women might contribute to efforts aimed at promoting defection of male al-Shabaab members. The focus of this report is on those Wives of al-Shabaab members, Who are primarily Wives – rather than on female ‘members’ or ‘participants’ of al-Shabaab, Who are also married to al- Shabaab men. The author of this report Wrote another study, specifically focussing on Women actively contributing to the group (see, The Invisible Women of al-Shabaab, 2019). This report builds on that earlier Work, this time focussing its lens on those Wives Who are not actively involved With the group. This study is Written as part of the Work of the Rehabilitation Support team (RST), a team of technical specialists, funded by a
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