Halima Ali Adan is a Somali gender rights activist and an expert on

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

(FGM). She is national co-chair of the Gender Based Violence (GBV) working group and program manager for Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), a non-profit humanitarian organization based in Somalia.

Early life

Adan was born and raised in

Mombasa, Kenya Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. She studied

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

at the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along with it ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

where she earned a BSc degree. After obtaining a MSc in Development Studies, Adan initially worked for an

Internet Service Provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Career

Since 2014, Adan has worked for Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC) as a program manager and co-chair of the Gender Based Violence work group (GBV). SSWC was founded in 1992 in Mogadishu by Somali women, whose goals were to create a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that would support Somali girls and women who were marginalized and experiencing violence and poverty in their communities. Adan's GBV team has faced many obstacles in obtaining justice for Somali victims of

gender violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply as ...

. A shortage of sufficiently trained police officers to respond to GBV cases, a low numbers of female police officers, lack of confidence in the Somali judicial system, and fear of retaliation by perpetrators, prevent many victims from reporting GBV crimes. In 2014, the UK government in support of Somali non-government humanitarian organizations, provided funding to SSWC and other South-Central Somali based organizations as part of £1 million of UK spending on projects to prevent sexual violence across Somalia. The funds began initially with providing basic services for victims. "Projects focus on training and capacity building including health workers, providing psychosocial, legal, and economic support and raising awareness through education." Funding from the UK was supplemented with additional funding and support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA/USAID) in 2015. The international support has enabled Adan and her GBV team to expand their program, coordinate with other Somali GBV work groups and provide additional training of GBV coordinators in South Central and the Puntland region of Somalia.

External links

Podcast with FGM experts: Efua Dorkenoo, Nimco Ali and Halima A Adan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adan, Halima Ali Somalian women's rights activists Alumni of the University of Greenwich Activists against female genital mutilation Somalian health activists 1984 births Living people