Trapped in Violence and Uncertainty: Patriarchy, Women, and the Conflict in Somalia

Since 1991, Somalia has been trapped in a violent civil war that has had devastating consequences for not just the country but also its neighbors. Women and girls are among the worst affected by the conflict as they continue to suffer from abuses at the hands of belligerent factions. The article argues that centuries of entrenched patriarchy has contributed to the shaping of wartime gender relations and dynamics. Conflict-related sexual and other forms of violence have been designed to demoralize and inflict pain on women and girls and their clans and communities. While the paper draws on the challenges that women and girls contend with in Somalia, it also argues that the patriarchal approach to addressing the conflict has also limited the individual and collective agency of women and their potential contributions to the search for peace, security, and stability in Somalia.