In a country that is listed in the top 5 most dangerous places for women, one stepped up and ran for president in the Somalia 2016 election. The incredibly brave Fadumo Dayib decided that she wanted to change the corruption and crime and make Somalia a safe home.
Dayib was originally born in Kenya to two Somali parents, but was forced back to Somalia in the 80s in the middle of a Civil War. She fled to Finland as a refugee where she learned to read and write at the age of 14.
Dayib realized that it was her duty to change the conditions of Somalia when she reaped the benefits of living in a stable country. She earned two Master’s degrees, including one in Public Administration from Harvard. She wanted women in Somalia to have the same opportunities and privileges such as education that she experienced.
She worked with the United Nations for 6 months setting up maternal health clinics in Somalia before she had to be evacuated due to concerns about safety. After that she traveled to Fiji and Liberia where she helped build more health clinics with the UN. It was the time spent in those places that she determined the first step to changing her home country began with a presidential candidacy.
Of course not everyone was too optimistic about Dayib’s decision. She’s received many death threats but she chose to view them in the best light.
“In terms of the threats that I’ve been getting, I see that actually as a positive sign that I am doing the right thing.”
Unfortunately Dayib has decided to withdraw her candidacy very recently due to an election “marred by corruption, rigging, intimidation, violence and blatant disregard for the rule of law.”
But she’s not stopping there. She says that she has decided to focus on democracy and human rights in Somalia instead. She’s planned to set up a panel that deals with the endless corruption in her country.
Even though Dayib didn’t win the election, why did her efforts go nearly unnoticed? This is the first election in Somalia since 1984, and she’s the first female presidential candidate to ever run in the history of her country. Her astonishing courage deserves to be in international headlines, and on front page magazines, yet only a few articles have been written about her.
Fadumo Dayib, we see you and we commend you. Here’s to more women shattering the glass ceiling.
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