A fruitful workshop was held yesterday in Borama by the Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Family “MESAF” in which participants discussed the role of the media in women’s participation in Somaliland politics.
The meeting was attended by twenty persons, nine of them candidates for the upcoming local goverment and parliamentary elections from the three national political parties of Somaliland,( UCID , KULMIYE and WADDANI). The rest of them were journalists, both men and women.
The meeting was officially opened by the Director General of the Ministry Mr. Mohamed Elmi Aden, Deputy Governor of Awdal regions Abdi Nur Sugal and the Mayor of Borama Suleiman Hassan Hadi as well as the coordinator of the Ministry in Awdal region Fardousa Sh. Saed and a senior advisor of gender issue of the MESAF Khadar Iman Igeh.
All above mentioned officers praised women’s role in the community, particularly in the areas of Social development, socio-economics, family structure and community cooperation. Thus, it was noted that women’s enhanced participation in politics would be constructive and positive contribution to the country’s development.
On the other hand, officers also mentioned how to overcome the cultural barriers and social myths postponed women’s basic rights when it comes participation of politics.
Participants also debated the role of Media of the Somaliland quota for women for the upcoming elections of 2019. It has widely digested the role of current media such as TV channels, Radios, Newspapers and websites as well as the social platforms named Social media like; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, G+linked and WhatsApp. Officers also specifically stated the engagement of Facebook and Twitter for better awareness towards Social benefits.
Finally, participants suggested that they have taken the advantage of the workshop and ready for engagement of the community in their role by using for both Media types including Social Media platforms.
By Xasan Ciise- Journalist