WOMEN IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND PEACE BUILDING IN GARBAHAREY AND LUGH DISTRICTS IN GEDO REGION OF SOMALIA A Thesis Presented to the school of Postgraduate studies and Research Kampala International University Kampala, Uganda In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the award Of a Degree of Master of arts in Development Studies BY: o~• 7fl~. AYAN DIRIE HERSI 0 u M.l” c’t~MPU5 March, 2011 DECLARATION A I, Ayan Dine Hersi hereby declare that this thesis is my Original work and has not been sub mitted to any other University or institution of higher learning for any academic award. Signature Date // DECLARAUON B This thesis has been carried out under my supervision as a University Supervisor and submitted to the school of Post Graduate Studies and Research for examination with my approval. Signature Date SUPERVISOR: DR~ STANLEY KINYATA, (PhD) 111 APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation entitled “women in conflict resolution and peace building process in Garbaharey and lugh districts in Gedo region of somalia” prepared and submitted by Ayan Dine Hers/in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of a degree of Masters in Development Studies. Ayan has been examined and approved by the panel on oral examination with grade of PASSED. i Or. m ~ ~ I Name and Sig of Chairman ~~‘-ic~q ~ ~U~Q Name and Sig of Supervisor Name and Sig Of Panelist ~ 4~c~2A J~1’( Name and Sig Of Panelist Name and Sijf:. Date of Comprehensive Examination: Grade: Name and Sig of Director, SPGSR Name and Sig of DVC, SPGRS DEDICATION I dedicated this thesis to my mother Zahra Jama Hassan and all my brothers and sisters. V ACKNOWLEGMENTS My gratitude first goes to almighty Allah who gave me the strength and courage to undertake this thesis. Without Allah, I could not be able to successfully complete this thesis. I also owe a lot of appreciation to all those who assisted me in carrying out this thesis. I am grateful to my supervisor DR. STANLEY KINYATA who tirelessly went through my work and inspired me to dig deeper into the core of the matter. His kind criticism, patience and understanding, assisted me a great deal. I am indebted too, to my parents, sisters, brothers and friends especially my talented sisters Horio and Sagal who gave me encouragement in time of difficulties. Thanks also go to all those lecturers in the School of Postgraduate studies and Research, especially Dr. Otanga Rusoke and Dr. Kerosi Josephat Bosire. I would like to express my gratitude to my brother said sh cabdi for his financial support and inspiration during my stay in Kampala international University (K I U). It is impossible to leave behind my talented friends of Mohamoud Mohumed Burale and Mohamed Mohamoud fadal for their encouragement and support. Finally, I would like to thank all my respondents and those within a short notice without which this work would not have been possible vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page One THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE 1 Background of the Study 1 Statement of the Problem 4 Purpose of the Study 4 Research Objectives 5 Research Questions 5 Scope of the study 5 Significance of the Study 6 Operational Definition of Key terms 6 Two REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 8 Overview 8 The role of women and in the peace building 8 main challenges to women’s roles in peace building 9 Women in Africa for Conflict Resolution and peace Building 12 women in Somalia for conflict resolution and peace Building 13 Models of peace building in Somalia 19 the effects of Civil War in Somali Women 22 Challenges of conflict resolution in Somalia 23 Theoretical perspectives 26 vii Three METHODOLOGIES 27 Introduction 27 Research Design 27 Research Population 27 Sample Size 28 Sample Procedure 28 Research Instruments 29 Validity and Reliability 29 Data Gathering Procedure 30 Data Analysis 30 Ethical Considerations 30 Limitation of the study 31 FOUR PRESENTATION INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 32 Introduction 32 Demographic characteristics of Respondents 32 Where do Somali women participate in peace building 36 the role of Somali women in conflict resolution 42 Presentation and the analysis of the interview 47 FIVE FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 50 Introduction 50 Summary of Findings 50 Where Somali women participate in peace building 50 The role of Somali women in conflict resolution 51 viii V Conclusions 51 Recommendations 53 REFERENCES 55 APPENDICES Appendix I Transmittal letter 59 Appendix II INSTRUMENTS 60 A. QUESTIONNAIRE V• 60 B. INTERVIEW GUIDE •V 65 APPENDIX III RESEARCHER’S CURRCULUM VITAE 66 ix LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1 Bio-data of the Respondents 33 Table 2 Bio-data of the Respondents 35 Table 3 where Somali women participates in peace building 36 Table 4 where Somali women participates in peace building 39 Table 5 the role of Somali women in conflict Resolution 42 Table 6 the role of Somali women in conflict Resolution 45 Table 7 the interview guide 47 Table 8 the interview guide 49 x ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to find out whether or not the Somali women participate in conflict resolution and peace building process in Garbaharey and Lugh Districts Gedo Region, Somalia. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the level of Somali women in conflict resolution efforts and their rol e of pa rticipation of women in peace-building program and to identify the challenges faced by the Somali women in peace building and conflict Resolution and solutions or recommendations to solve the challenges. Questionnaires and interview were applied to collect data from the 100 respondents selected purposively from 1000 members of non governmental organizations, civil society and professional parties. The study found out that Somali women have taken some active role in conflict resolution by writing poetries and songs, encouraging community to resolve the conflict. The recommendations of the study were to encourage the elders to permit the women to get involved in the local conflict resolution conferences, and the researcher also encourages the international donors to be attending the Somali reconciliation conferences and to encourage the women to participate in the conflict resolutions for the gender balance. xi CHAPTER ONE THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE Background of the Study The media routinely portrays women in situations of armed conflict as victims. However, when we analyses their experiences in conflict situations we see that they are often actively engaged in conflicts. They may bear arms, carry out numerous tasks, which can be dangerous, or encourage men to fight. Women are also involved in conflict transformation. Their activities, which are mainly carried out within the framework of associations, include the development of survival strategies at community level, the reconstruction of communities that have been devastated by conflict, lobbying belligerents to lay down their weapons, the rehabilitation and social reintegration of combatants and awareness-raising campaigns aimed at promoting women’s participation in decision-making processes relating to peace. In the last ten years, a powerful and expanding network of women began to strategize and articulate a global agenda to include women in conflict prevention and peace building. As colonialism and the state system spread around the world, women often lost their traditional roles in leading and building peace in their communities. In the early and mid-1900s, some 1 women began to recognize this loss and organize networks of women to work for changing the patterns of relationships between men and women that excluded women from leadership in their communities. However, women’s contributions to conflict transformation in Africa are either largely ignored by official policy-making structures, which they therefore cannot influence, or invisible. In general, men and women have different experiences of armed and post-conflict situations. In most cases, only men’s more visible life experiences and contributions feature in analyses relating to conflicts and the mechanisms put in place to resolve them (Kemi &‘wezi, 2000). Since the collapse of the state in 1991, the people of Somalia have plagued by protracted political insecurity, following political brutal militarized violence, survived without social services or state protection. The unresolved, militarized conflict and following political disintegration have produced both positive and negative gendered outcomes in Somalia, manifesting in drastic changes in gender roles. These shifts have enabled Somali women to participate in activities — such as conflict resolution — that were previously consider to be exclusively of the male dominated conflict resolution mechanism. When the male clan elders first lost effective control over the heavily armed, young militiamen, Somali women saw it as an opportunity to make their intervention in the peace-building arena. As mothers, grandmothers, aunts, spouses and sisters — and as those more often victimized by militarized violence — Somali women understood that in order to minimize the atrocities committed by the 2 armed, young men in their communities they need to action to curb the violence (Liban, 2007). In Somali society, it is men, specifically the elders, who traditionally have the means to make peace through dialogue and mediation. However, although women typically excluded from decision-making forums where peace accords negotiated, their position within the clan system gives them the ability to bridge clan divisions and to act as a first channel for dialogue between parties of the conflict (Stamp, 1995). Women have also been effective in influencing elders and others to intervene in conflict and have mobilized resources to finance peace meetings and support demobilization. While men typically focus on achieving a political settlement, with the assumption that peace will ensue, women’s vision of peace exceeds this and includes sustainable livelihoods, education, truth, and reconciliation. Women have also led the way in mobilizing civil society engagement in peace work, although few of their initiatives for peace have been documenting.