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parliament to ensure this occurs. As parliament is approaching elections and a new intake of
members of parliament (at least in the lower chamber), entry points such as a detailed manual
setting out working guidelines, procedures and protocol would be opportune. It would also
fulfill the dual role of communicating to the public what they can expect of parliament.
8.
Strategic, indirect support to women in the public arena
The political climate appeared ripe for change in 2010 during President Silanyo’s electoral
campaign, where he promised to introduce a women’s quota in parliament, however momentum
for greater inclusion appears to have subsided. The enhancement and widening of women’s
participation in the political life of the country still has support, particularly from civil society
groups, yet this issue was not prioritized by workshop participants, who were predominantly
male, and was thought by interviewees to be an issue over which Somali social and cultural
norms are too predominant to overcome.
While it does appear that direct support of women’s participation – for instance supporting
women candidates in elections or advocating for legal change – may prove too difficult for the
time being, it is recommended that this issue not be shelved but instead donors consider
pursuing less direct ways of supporting women to participate in politics through incremental
steps towards promoting the longer-term acceptance of women in positions of authority. These
approaches include supporting women’s groups (informal and formal) to engage with members
of parliament at the local level and supporting the creation of women-only staff positions in
local councils to act as a focal point for women in their locality while also increasing the
visibility and acceptance of women in professional life.
Opportunities for Future Support
Opportunity 1: Support to parliament needs to engage more on “political” issues such as
executive accountability to parliament and not treat capacity building as a panacea.
Somalilander priorities clearly lay in the areas of internal parliamentary processes and in
reforming parts of the constitution. While these areas are more difficult to influence and
understand, they are major barriers to change in other areas. Support to parliament needs to
engage more on “political” issues such as executive accountability to parliament and not treat
capacity building as a panacea.
Opportunity 2: Future support to the Somaliland parliament should also include
assistance to the
Guurti
.
It is easy for support to focus on the House of Representatives, but as the upper chamber has an
important historical precedent, the
Guurti
also needs to be considered, both in terms of capacity-
building and in addressing constitutional questions relating to its remit and the election/selection
of members.
Opportunity 3: Support programs to improve member of parliament-constituent
relations.
