Let's acknowledge that Somali society could benefit from "feminism", or rather, a greater appreciation for the rights outlined under Islam to be genuinely respected and adhered to. Instances of marriage without consent, rape, and sexual assault to name a few.
The advocacy for women's rights in Somalia is only naturally in our society, first in terms of numbers because there are more woman. Somalia stands out among Muslim nations for its higher female-to-male ratio. Women are inherently more numerous due to factors such as natural deaths occurring more frequently among men, coupled with accidents resulting from risk-taking behavior found in men. A society with more men than women signals concerning trends, shwoing an imbalance caused by unnatural death rates among woman. The fact that woman are not the more numerous sex in the muslim world is troubling.
Besides numbers socio-economically woman are gaining power, in Somalia, many small-scale businesses, often overlooked, are actually managed by women. Additionally, young Somali women, both within Somalia and in the Western diaspora, are increasingly gaining knowledge, work experience and education. This enables them to critically assess and recognize that the circumstances for women in Somalia are far from ideal. Woman are more likely to give remittance back to family in Somalia and with that comes power economic power.
Ironically, the greatest obstacle to a feminist movement in Somalia, like many other issues in our country, is tribalism. If a widespread movement encompassing all Somali women were to emerge, they could wield significant political influence, but breaking through tribal barriers is essential. This can only happen when it's understood that women share more with each other in their struggles across the country, particularly in the unique problems they face due to their sex.
The majority of gender discrimination, sexual assault, and rape occur within the closest circles of intimacy. For a woman, your kinsman is the most likely to steal from, assualt you or be misogynistic against you. Once this becomes evident, significant societal changes are will follow in our country.