Women-Led Initiatives
PDRC and Horncenter (HC) have carried out a three-day forum on Women-Led Peace initiatives, whom are the women engaged in Galkayo peace. The forum discussed revolved around the role of the women for peace in the region and more specifically in Galkayo. 26 women for peace in Galkayo who represent the two neighborhoods of Galkayo of both Puntland and Galmudug, which means 13 members from both sides. Women from Puntland is the chairperson of the women for peace in Galkayo, together with a vice-chairperson, and secretary.
Below is the summary of the activities under the theme of Women-Led Initiatives in Galakayo, which started from the three-day forum on women intervention, best practices, and lessons learned. Strengthening of neighborhood peace watch was also discussed in the forum.
| Activity 5: Women-Led Initiatives | |
| 1 | 3 days Forum on ‘Women interventions, best practices and lessons learned |
| 2 | Forum Report |
| 3 | Creation/strengthening of neighborhood peace watch |
| 4 | Production of Video Peace Messages by women |
| 5 | Dissemination of messages through MAVU, TV, and Radio |
| 6 | Final report |
Table 1 Activity 5: Women-Led Initiatives activities
Dissection Questions
The forum posed discussion questions, so the committee and the members discuss their issues and their near plans. Below are the two themes of the forum.
How do the women for peace initiatives’ committee work with the following groups of the community, especially:
Elders,
youth,
State Authorities in Galkayo both Puntland and Galmudug,
Business community.
What is the immediate or short-term plan for women working in the peace of Galkayo?
The Chairperson of the Women’s Peace Association said due to the current coronavirus in the world as well as in Somalia, there have been fewer meetings where women have come together to discuss peace issues. “In the past, Galkayo was in a state of crisis and people were dying due to the ongoing fighting, but these days it is over, and there is peace in the region”, she stated. In Galkayo, Women for Peace in Galkayo are determined not to rest after the crisis in this city. Finally, she thanked the organizers of this forum for peace in Galkayo, namely PDRC and HC.
Women’s committees have gone through different stages and once there were 13 committees that did not work together, but now there is only one committee, and this shows that women work together and are united, and there is a lot of cooperation between women in this region.
There used to be a green line, but now that is not the case, and there is peace in Galkayo. However, there is insecurity around the city of Galkayo. Some incidents threaten the peace of the city such as robbery and theft in this city. Young people commit robbery, and parents need to be aware of what their children are doing. Therefore, to reduce the risk of youth robbery and theft, programs needed to be developed for youth development such as vocational training and the like. As reconciliation is one of the pillars of Islam, and the need to strengthen the work for peace and reconciliation is paramount and obliged to all segments of the community.
Awareness raising needs to be continued in order to achieve better results for the community since we can only keep the peace, when we are at rest. Hence, Workshops and football tournaments need to be arranged and held, so that the integration between the two brotherly communities is strengthened and strengthened. There is a need to raise awareness and peace forums in the Mudug region, especially in Galkayo, with the authorities in Galkayo, youth, and elders. Since prevention is better than cure, parents of young people need to be aware of their children’s situation, like youth groups, who are causing unrest in the city are increasing these days due to the unemployment and economic hardships that are caused by the Corona Virus outbreak in the city, and in the country at large.
3 days Forum on ‘Women interventions, best practices and lessons learned
The three-day forum had the agenda of discussion that was prepared earlier, and was shared with committees; the following was the agenda of the meeting:
Achievements, since their establishment in September 2018.
Collaboration and/or relationship between them and other peace structures including elders, youth, village committee, and administrations.
Short-term plans.
The agenda was derived from the Road to Sustainable Peace Project (R2SPP) in Galkayo. During the discussion sessions, the women for peace discussed the agenda question, and they were given the chance to present their arguments using the flipchart provided by the two organizations HC, and PDRC.
