Promoting women’s participation in social and economic life in Kismayo

Context

Around 77 per cent of the Somali population live in multidimensional poverty, meaning that they are not only financially disadvantaged but also have limited access to education and health services and face low standards of living. Women and women-headed households are particularly affected by poverty and experience economic and political exclusion. Sociocultural norms and gender roles are responsible for the traditional view that a woman’s role is to take over caregiving and domestic responsibilities. As a result, girls and women often receive less education.

Objective

The social and economic participation of women-headed households living in multidimensional poverty in Kismayo has improved.

Approach

The project works with women from displaced and host communities who have sole responsibility for children and other family members. The aim is to create a stable living situation for their households.

• The project improves the women’s ability to generate their own income. This includes implementing training courses tailored to the target group, and supporting women in setting up micro-enterprises.
• To strengthen social participation, the project supports women in setting up and running self-help groups to meet their specific needs and jointly save.
• In addition to providing early childhood education for their children, the project also offers basic numeracy and literacy courses for women to enable economic and social participation.
• To ensure long-term impact, the project involves local government and other stakeholders in implementing the project and generating and disseminating the lessons learned.

This combination of measures addressing the various causes of poverty is also known as the graduation approach. It was developed by the organisation BRAC and has already been used effectively in various countries to provide social protection.

Last update: December 2024