Education
Source: Sabahi
Mogadishu's Waberi district administration and Raage Ugaas High School are collaborating on a multi-phase education project to provide 225 illiterate and innumerate women with free schooling.
"We want to produce women who are capable and educated," Waberi District Commissioner Ahmed Mayre Makaran told Sabahi. "When we saw the need for education and the financial difficulties facing women, we established this project."
The first six-month phase began April 27th, Makaran said. An independent committee manages the programme at the government-run school.
Students enrolled in the programme will learn how to write and receive instruction in mathematics.
"There are many women who are ready to learn, but are unable to afford private school tuition, which highlights the great need for re-establishing the free education the government used to provide for the public," Makaran said.
Classes are held Saturday through Wednesday, from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. The programme relies entirely on volunteer teachers -- three men and three women -- who instruct five classes of 45 students each.
In the second phase, women will receive vocational skills and home economics training, said Abdirahman Mohamud Ali, the school's administrator.
"We will teach them simple management skills such as household management, small market management, creating and managing small businesses, and how to monitor and manage the health and education of their children," Ali told Sabahi.
Changing views on women's education
Many women in Somalia are uneducated because Somali society does not encourage their education, but now there is an increasing awareness of the importance of investing in women, said Mohamed Isse, a social affairs analyst.
"In recent times, increased public awareness has coincided with women's progress," Isse told Sabahi. "Previously, parents used to educate only boys and this caused the emergence of many women who could not read or write."
"If a concerted effort is made to educate women, whether a little bit or a lot, it is possible to reduce poverty and properly raise children," he said.
Some of the women in the programme told Sabahi about the troubles they have had without proper education, and what they hope to gain from literacy and learning math skills.
Programme recipient Safiya Addow, said illiteracy and innumeracy put her at a disadvantage by making it hard to budget her expenses or find a job.
"I am even unable to effectively manage the daily household expenses because I cannot keep track of what I get and what I spend," she said.
"I have never had any education and I do not know how to write anything, so truly this is the beginning of a new future for Somali mothers," said Maey Mohamed, a 46-year-old housewife and mother of seven.
"I was very happy when I was informed I would be receiving free education," Mumina Mohamed, a 39-year-old mother of five, told Sabahi. "My husband and I do not work, but I hope I will find work once I finish this course."