Somali Women's Democratic Organization (SWDO) was a women's organization in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

, founded in 1977. It belonged to the

Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), , it, Partito Socialista Rivoluzionario Somalo was the ruling party of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1976 to 1991. History SRSP was created by the military regime of Siad Barre under S ...

during the regime of President

Siad Barre Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1 ...

History

The SWDO was established with the support of President

in 1977 in memory of

Hawo Tako Hawo Tako (died 1948) was a prominent Somali activist. Biography Hawo Tako belonged to the Abaskuul, Jidwaaq Absame clan which settles the Middle Juba region of Somalia as well as the Fafan valleys in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. A member o ...

, a female member of the anti-colonialist

Somali Youth League The Somali Youth League (SYL) ( so, Ururka Dhalinyarada Soomaaliyeed رابطة الشباب الصومالي, it, Lega dei Giovani Somali or ''Lega Somala della Gioventù''), initially known as the Somali Youth Club (SYC), was the first polit ...

, who was killed by the Italian forces in 1948. It was established to inforce the policy of women's rights of the Communist Barre regime, and the regime appointed its female leadership in order to maintain female compliance with the government. At the time of the foundation of the SWDO, women's rights and equality was only barely initiated in Somalia. After Somalia gained its independence from colonial powers in 1960, both men and women were given the right to vote. In practice however, it was not until after

Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia) The Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC; so, Gollaha Sare ee Kacaanka, ar, المجلس الثوري الأعلى, it, Consiglio Rivoluzionario Supremo) was the governmental body that ruled Somalia from 1969 to 1976. History Assassination o ...

came to power in 1969, that women's rights were prioritized by the government. The Family Law of 1975 gave equal rights to women and men regarding marriage, divorce and inheritance, and restricted polygamy. Two years later, the SWDO was established. The policy of gender equality enforced by the government through the SWDO had a marked effect on women's position. Women participated in society in a number of ways, such as female school enrollment, women in the workplace, women's participation in politics and the military, and all increased during the 1970s and the 1980s. After the fall of the Barre regime in 1991,

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic un ...

effectively eliminated the legal rights of women in Somalia.{{Cite web, url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a83b8.html, title=RefWorld: Human Rights Brief: Women in Somalia, date=1994, website=RefWorld, publisher=Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, access-date=2018-11-20

References

External links

Women’s Rights in Somalia: Women’s Role in Conflict Resolution

Somali Women and the Socialist State

1977 establishments in Somalia Feminism and history Feminist organisations in Somalia Organizations established in 1977 Social history of Somalia Women's rights in Somalia Women's organisations based in Somalia