(The African Way) — Fadumo Dayib is the first woman to set her sights on the Somali presidency. She is determined to stand up to a system that has for a long time put women on the side lines. After being forced to flee Kenya, her Somali born family moved to Finland as refugees. Only learning to read and write at age 14, she went on to work for the UN in Liberia. She is now running for president in Somalia.
Although her story is inspiring, it is one that is common for many Somali families that fled due to conflict in the country. What really makes Fadumo Dayib stand out is that while only learning to read and write as a teenager she holds several degrees from prestigious institutions.
Fadumo Dayib does not believe she will become the next president of Somalia because Somalia is run by the 4 big clans, they call it the 4.5 clan base system. This is the system that shuts out women and youth. 275 members of parliament will choose the next president and they often choose through payment. Fadumo also sees the male dominated society as a major challenge:
“ITS A MALE DOMINATED SOCIETY, WE HAVE AL SHABBAB AND OTHER GROUPS WHO FEEL THAT A WOMAN’S PLACE IS AT HOME OR IN A GRAVE AND IF SHE CANT STAY AT HOME THEY WILL MAKE SURE SHE GETS INTO A GRAVE.”
Fadumo says that her goal is not to obtain power but to address the inequalities that they have in Somalia and she believe that she can do that through instigating social change and her running for president is part of that. She says that “there is a prevalent belief that women should not aspire to these kind of positions.” By really coming forward and actually being a very credible candidate Fadumo believes that if there were free and fair elections today she would stand a very good chance of being elected.
Fadumo says,
“UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE GOING THROUGH A VERY CORRUPT SYSTEM WHICH DOESN’T LOOK AT COMPETENCY BUT IT ONLY LOOKS AT MONEY.”
Learn more about Fadumo Dayib by watching the video below
The post Fadumo Dayib From Refugee to Presidential Candidate appeared first on .