Thursday May 16, 2019
Participants attend an awareness event on the Constitutional Review Process organised by the Protection, Human Rights and Gender Unit of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The event took place in Mogadishu, Somalia on 13 May 2019. AMISOM Photo / Omar Abdisalan
MOGADISHU (Xinhua) -- The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said Tuesday it has sensitized 25 Somali women drawn from various civil society organizations on the ongoing constitutional review process.
Mane Ahmed, AMISOM gender officer, said the representatives from various youth groups, women associations, sports and the media were engaged on how they can make meaningful contributions to the law review process in the country.
"Somali women are eager to contribute to the constitutional review process to ensure they are adequately represented, particularly in the political process and possibly have fifty percent representation," Ahmed said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.
The government has launched the constitution review process in May 2018. It is expected that by the end of the year, Somalia will have a new constitution, just in time for the 2020 one-person-one-vote elections.
Analysts say the holding of the 2020 universal vote is considered critical for the sake of entrenching the federal system of governance, which is required to appease communities and regions claiming systematic exclusion and marginalization for decades.
The election is also considered crucial because it would entrench political inclusivity, which is part of Somalia's roadmap to democracy.
Ilhan Mohamed Hassan, a member of the Somali Professional Women's Union, encouraged women to be conversant with the specific constitution provisions about women.
"We are advocating for the inclusion of the 30 percent quota, protection against sexual violence, and our rights for participation in the three arms of government," Hassan said.
During the meeting, participants called for an inclusive process that caters for women representation. They appealed for equality in the political process and access to opportunities.