Raqiya Haji Dualeh Abdalla
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Raqiya Haji Dualeh Abdalla ( so, Raqiiyaa Xaaji Ducale Cabdille, ar, زاقيي ا حاجي دوالي عبد الله) is a Somali sociologist and politician. She has held a number of senior policy-making posts in governmental, non-governmental and international institutions, including as Vice Minister of Health of
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 Constituti ...
. She was also a founding member of the Somali Women's Democratic Organization (SWDO), serving as the group's Acting Chairperson and Vice President. Additionally, Raqiya is the founder and President of the Somali Family Care Network.


Personal life

Raqiya was born 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 Constituti ...
. For her post-secondary education, she earned a B.A. in Social Sciences from the
College of Education In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; ed school) is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences en ...
in
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
. Raqiya also holds a master's degree in Public Policy and Women in Development from the
Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent and international graduate school of policy-oriented critical social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Neth ...
which is part of
Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humani ...
based in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.


Career

Raqiya is a trained sociologist. She has held a number of senior policy-making posts in governmental, non-governmental and international institutions. Raqiya was a founding member of the Somali Women's Democratic Organization (SWDO). Established in 1977, it was the first women's parliamentary caucus in Somalia.Somali Women's Democratic Organization, ''SWDO: Somali Women's Democratic Organization'', The Organization, 1984, p. 1 She would also serve as the group's Acting Chairperson and Vice President. Among other initiatives, the SWDO was mandated with implementing the ruling Supreme Revolutionary Council's law prohibiting female genital mutilation. In this capacity, Raqiya initiated the first anti-FGM campaign in Somalia. In 1979, on behalf of the SWDO, she represented Somalia at the WHO global seminar in
Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
.''International Journal of Women's Studies'', Volume 3, Eden Press, 1980, p. 312 She was concurrently elected as Somalia's representative to the conference's five-person Sub-Committee, which was tasked with formulating resolutions and recommendations on FGM. While working with the Ministry of Culture, Raqiya published ''Sisters in Affliction'' in 1982. It was the first book on infibulation by a Somali woman.''Women's International Network News'', Volume 9, Women's International Network, 1983, p. 75 The work had a widespread impact, particularly when it was later translated into Abdalla's native Somali language. From 1983 to 1986, Raqiya was Somalia's Assistant or Vice Minister of Health. For a five-year period, she also served as Senior Program Advisor to the UNDP in Sudan. Raqiya later served as a consultant for Immigrant and Refugee Services of America, a national voluntary agency. She therein held national workshops on reproductive rights for women immigrants from Somalia and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, and worked with community leaders. In 2001, Raqiya founded the Somali Family Care Network (SFCN) in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, serving as the group's President. The SFCN offers technical support to ethnic Somali community organizations in the United States. It also provides assistance on general health care to women immigrants from the Horn of Africa.


References


External links


Raqiya Haji Dualeh Abdalla - Sisters in Affliction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdalla, Raqiya Haji Dualeh Living people Ethnic Somali people Somalian politicians Somalian sociologists Somalian emigrants to the United States International Institute of Social Studies alumni Year of birth missing (living people)