Young Girls Assaulted by people they Trust most

In Somalia women or even small girls are not able talk about sexual assaults because of the stigma associated with it. once a girl is assaulted, she is devalued instead of being supported by the Government and the society. Rape among young girls is rampant and parents of this children hide the occurrence because of shame because these girls should be virgin at the age of marriage and if news of their rape spreads no one will marry them in future, very unfortunate situation.

There have been recent cases where Religious Teachers have raped girls as young as 8 and 10 years old and unfortunately the 10 years died because of the injurie sustained from the rape. There has been less support for the affected families because they were poor families live rural areas.

 

I wish no stigma and shame was associated with this deadly situation as the girl child is disapproved on something that is not her fault and real sense, she is the victim. There have been many cases where several men rape one girl and few are punished for this.

There are many cases where girls below the ages of 10 years have been raped by their Biological fathers, uncles and their step-dads. All these cases are hidden in order to preserve family honor, which is so wrong.

The young girls are assaulted by people they had trusted most, their own teachers and people from their own house hold and that doesn’t mean they are safe on the street.

It is time for the Somali government and non-profit organisations supporting Somalia to develop a big focus on issues related to assaults of Women and Girls because the culture and the society ignore these issues and the victims are stigmatized.

 

This is article is by Habiba

Kindly leave comments and contributions in my email below

Habiba.ali49@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Justified Pedophilia in Somalia

 

In Somalia girls as young as 13 are married off by their parents .This is because there are  no laws that forbid  this act  and save these young angels .The very parent they trusted marry them off because  either they see them as financial burden or source of income in terms of dowry .They are sold as low as 100$ ,this would have been perceived so disgusting and vile in western world but a country where are women rights don’t exist such bad traditions are justified by culture.

 There is an Somali proverb that says a woman should either be in her house(married) or be in a  Grave(dead)…that is so demeaning , meaning a Woman is seen as  a cause of  shame because it is believed if  she is not married early she might get pregnant out of wedlock and hence spoil the honor of the family. Like this Saying most Proverbs about women in my culture are by men and mostly demean women.

 These marriages are so heart-braking because most of these girls are married against their wish and most of them get divorced before they are even 20 years or the husband marries more wives while she young mother, it is so unfortunate.

Once these girls are divorced with or without kids they are perceived to second-hand or not good enough because they are not virgins anymore hence, they develop low self-esteem. They can’t go school because of the stigma associated with being a divorcee and do not have skills to improve their lives and so end up living in a dilapidated situations.

 My hope is to create as so much awareness about this issue and use whatever medium I can get to pass my message to everyone in the world and see how these bad traditions can be abolished in my society and my country, although it might take a long time.

 

By Habiba Ali

 

Distance

Distance                

When distance speaks….

 And says something about some place ….

Somewhere you have been…

Something about those days

 Days when life sparkled

There are some memories

Some that i still hold in my soul

Silhouettes of yesterday

Swaying around with a song..

A connection to the past

Though it seems just yesterday

But Just enough for a reminisce

Do you remember…..?

Something about that smile…

When we fumble with archives

Of our own lives…..

And reminisce from days of our lives

Sweet young days...

Flourishing mornings under early sun

Everything sparkled and shinned

Even our very own hopes…

Distance I wish to travel back in the days

Days I wish to recount with smile

Sweet reminisce…..

Habiba Ali

A point in time

 

A point in time

You have grown,

To whom you have never thought,

Confidently became,

To a total beauty

With all the flaws and fines.

It’s basically out thought,

That we can tabulate our lives,

Maybe a point in time,

we will backtrack,

To some very first row.

A point in time we meet people,

We live in  moments,

Moments that furrowed our foreheads

Some might have  we soothed our souls,

With an ounce of hope,

That lies in some future.

One point in time,

We lived little bit more,

Just for the moment

enjoyed what was not in the norm

just for the minute,just for the moment

Oblivious of !

A future cocooned in some eternity.

One point in time you will remember,

Reminisce on the slightest of every bliss,

An ounce of happiness,

No one wants to seek sorrow

 Only Sweet reminisce!

Habiba Ali

War

 War

Is a perverse wildness!

Wildness that might woo me,

Like those with weak hearts,

The ones with wrecked mind.

 

They think I am  too young ,

To understand the ways of war,

The same war that ripped off my father’s lungs,

The very one that blew off my brother’s brain,

Alas! I know much about this war.

 

See they are wrong,

When they say I know little about war,

Because this war seethes in my soul every day,

Tattering it into tiny pieces.

 

Lately I have been thinking about this war,

How am going to break its very wrist,

And wreck it is deepest of existence,

My teeth gritting.

 

I cannot wait to strip it off,

Its wretched skin,

I want war to bleed with pain,

As I peel its very skin,

Till it pleads for mercy.

 

By Habiba A Ali

Deviance in Due!

There is something in my heart,

That which is questioned by my mind,

Deep in my soul i come to surrender,

To that which tempts and tantalizes my heart.

Way down something pulls my heart,

 My hopes,

Way up another in whirls my mind,

Society consternation!

So I am almost in surrender,

Between whirlwinds hopes and feelings.

Like a bee on honey,

Scent of freedom seduces my soul,

Free from constant perception and prejudice,

Free from warning glances!

Warnings of the devil and deviance.

See  I drool for this deviance,

A deviance so deep rooted,

In my soul,

Constant perceptions that I brake,

Scents of freedom I seek.

So i am tempted to a resolution,

To what soothes,

And suits me,

A deviance from society suitability!

By Habiba A. Ali,

Midnight

It is deep in the night,

And it is way too deep when people think,

That your ways are wild and your

Words are sour,

That they are bewildered by your thoughts,

 That it is way too deviant,and too distanced.

But I tell them it is not my ways,

 It is my definition of life,

It’s my burning perception

And my position as woman

It is how I deeply define what is oblivious to you.

It is midnight and I have come

Way too far,way too deep in my thoughts.

My soul feels illuminated and enlightened too,

Appreciating the much I have learned,

And the much am yet to learn.

It is midnight again,

And the sweet scent serenity

Saturates in my vicinity.

Still I reminisce,

On something more salient in my soul.

By Habiba Ali,

A young poet living

On trails of Rumi and

Maya Angelou