Somalia is not a great place to be woman

索马里不是一个女人待的好地方

My interest in Somalia grew out of the fact that it’s considered to be one of the worst places on Earth to be a woman. It has near-universal female genital mutilation. Women are locked out of healthcare, so the figures on infant mortality and death during childbirth are unknown, but certainly terrible. It has widespread domestic violence and, on top of that, 20 years of complete instability in which women were forced to flee their homes. In south-central Somalia you also have the impact of the Shabab [an Islamist militia].

我对索马里的兴趣，源于这样一个事实，索马里被认为是这个世界上最不适合女人居住的地方。几乎所有的女性生殖器都有被残害。妇女们被医疗保健拒之门外，所以，婴儿的死亡人数和分娩时期死亡的人数是无人知晓的，但是这铁定是一惊人的数字。家暴现象是相当普遍的，另外，20年的动荡，大量的妇女被迫远离家乡。在索马里中南部，还要遭受沙巴布民兵的骚扰。

What is the impact of the Shabab on women?

沙巴布民兵对妇女的影响，是个什么情况？

They have been terrorising women. It’s hard to know about Shabab-controlled areas because there has been no humanitarian access, so measuring the levels of sexual violence and attacks on women has been extremely difficult. That is not to say it is not happening. When I was there in 2011 I interviewed a young woman of 17 whose father had been killed. She was living in a camp, caring for her brothers and sisters, next door to another girl with whom she shared chores. Shabab showed up at the friend’s house wanting to marry the girl. A lot of people reject the term "forced marriage" because what you are really talking about is sexual slavery. The girl’s father refused, so the Shabab killed him. They dug a hole in front of her friend’s hut, dragged her friend out, buried her up to the neck in sand and stoned her to death. Then she herself was gang-raped by five Shabab militiamen in front of her brothers and sisters.

他们一直以来都在恐吓妇女。在没有人道主义渠道的情境下，要知道沙巴布民兵控制的区域情况是很难的，要了解性暴力的程度，还有女性所受到的攻击，更是难上加难。但是这并不是说没有性暴力。2011年我在那里的时候有采访过一个17岁的年轻妇女，她的父亲被杀害了。她住在难民集中营，照顾她的兄弟姐妹们，与隔壁的另一个姑娘一起分担家务。沙巴布民兵来到她这位朋友的家里，想要娶她。在那里，很多人都反对“逼婚”，因为其实质就是性奴隶。女孩的父亲拒绝逼婚，于是沙巴布民兵就杀了他。并在她朋友的房前挖了一个坑，把她拖出房外，用沙子埋到脖子，并用石头将其打死。而她本人，则被五名沙巴布民兵当着兄弟姐妹的面，轮奸。

Is there anything that can be done?

能否采取一些措施？

In partnership with a local woman I created the first sexual-violence crisis centre in Mogadishu. Last month the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) formed a sexual-violence task force, so there is some very new recognition of the crisis in Somalia. This is because, now that some areas have been seized from the Shabab, these women can actually be reached. The last I heard there had been 2,200 cases of sexual violence reported in and around Mogadishu.

与摩加迪休的一位当地妇女合作，我创建了第一个性暴力危机中心。上个月，过渡联邦政府成立了一个性暴力特别小组，这表明，在索马里，人们对此危机有了一些新的认识。成立性暴力特别小组的原因是，虽然已经从沙巴布民兵手中夺取了一些区域，妇女们实际上还是会受到民兵们的侵犯。最后，我听说在摩加迪休或是摩加迪休周遭，有2200例性暴力报道。

Presumably it is difficult to report this if it’s a way of life.

如果这是一种生活方式，那报道性暴力就很困难

There are famous cases of women being beheaded for reporting sexual violence in Shabab-controlled areas. I also met a woman who had been gang raped by TFG soldiers at her camp. Her camp leader took her to the authorities to report the rape and both of them were arrested. The sense of impunity around sexual violence is certainly not limited to the Shabab.

有一些非常著名的妇女被砍首的报道，砍首的原因是她们在沙巴布控制的区域报道性暴力事件。同时，我有碰见一位妇女，她在她自己的难民集中营中被过渡政府士兵轮奸。难民营的领导带她去当局报告这件事情，然而这俩人都被拘留了。性暴力不受惩罚的观念，当然不仅仅限于沙巴布。

Are women fighting back?

妇女有回击吗？

An important point that is often missed is that, despite the unbelievable culture of oppression, you have some remarkable women leaders on the ground in Somalia, risking their lives every day. Hawa Abdi, a physician who has maintained a refugee camp on her property right outside Mogadishu, faces down the Shabab constantly. Fartun Adan runs the sexual-violence crisis centre in Mogadishu. When we’re looking at the future of Somalia these women need to be at the table. Things are changing now that the African Union [a regional body], the Ethiopian and Kenyan armies have wrested control from the Shabab in certain areas. Somalia is facing an unprecedented confluence of factors that might give the country a shot at peace.

有一个非常重要的点，经常被忽略，那就是，尽管在如此令人难以置信的文化压迫之下，在索马里当地，还是有一些非常厉害的女性领导们，她们每天都冒着生命的危险。哈瓦阿迪，内科医生，在摩加迪休以外的地区，用她的房产权维持一个难民营，成天遭受沙巴布的打击。发屯阿丹，在摩加迪休管理一个性暴力中心。当我们展望索马里未来的时候，要把这些妇女考虑进去。事情正在发生转变，因为非洲联盟（一个地方性机构），埃塞俄比亚和肯尼亚军队已经在部分地区，从沙巴布手中夺取了控制权。

What has contributed to this watershed?

是什么导致这一分水岭？

Since the "Black Hawk Down" incident in 1993 [when two American military helicopters were shot down over Mogadishu leading to a pitched urban battle with Somali fighters] the international approach has been very hands off. But, if there is any silver lining to the recent famine, it is that, since July 2011, there has been a renewed interest in the human situation in Somalia. The UN just mandated that the number of African Union troops in the country can rise from 12,000 to 17,000. What is needed now is more stable government. The transitional authorities, whose mandate ends this year, is weak and corrupt. There is no rule of law. The interior minister, Abdi Shakur Sheikh Hassan, was blown up in a suicide attack by his own niece last June.

随着1993年“黑鹰降落”事件（两个美国直升机士兵在摩加迪休被击落，这导致与索马里的战斗机飞行员的一场激战）的发生以来，国际上采取的一直都是不干涉的策略。对于最近的饥荒，唯一值得欣慰的是，从2011年七月起，国际上恢复了对索马里人权状况的兴趣。联合国强制规定，非洲联盟在这个国家的军队数量可以从12，000上升到17，000。目前需要的是一个更为稳定的政府。过渡政府，软弱无力又腐败，管理授权到今年为止。这里没有所谓的法律可言。内政部，阿比迪舍库尔酋长哈山，在最近的六月份，被自己的侄女在自杀式袭击中炸死。

How do you create a stable government out of this situation?

如何在此种情境下建立一个稳定的政府？

Why is there so little talk about Somaliland? Somaliland went through a peace and reconciliation process in the early 1990s and it has been stable and functioning like an independent country with its own police force and currency. It’s safe to travel there. When you look at Somalia it’s tempting to think there is no hope, and yet we have a shining example of what can work in that context. The peace process in Somaliland didn’t have international support and yet they did it. That’s not to suggest that the international community shouldn’t fund the transition in Somalia—they must. There is a lot of hope, particularly at this moment. I would not have said that last year.

为什么关于索马里兰的谈论是如此的少？在1990年代早期，索马里兰经历了一个和平的和解过程，从那以后索马里兰局势稳定，并且像一个独立的国家一样运作，拥有自己的军队和货币。去那里旅游是安全的。现在看索马里，很容易觉得它是没有希望的，但是我们有一个极好的例子，说明在那种环境下，什么事是可以行得通的。索马里的和平进程并没有国际上的援助，但是它却成功了。这并不是在暗示国际社会不应该资助索马里，而是必须资助。尤其是在这样的时刻，希望还是非常多的。如果是在去年，我就不会说这些。

不错，，，谢谢分享，，，，学习了，，，，

谢谢分享  对索马里有了一定了解

Thanks very much!

在索马里妇女没有地位。。。。

好可怜。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

感谢上苍！！！！！！！！！！！！！！我们应该觉得幸福！！！！！！！！！！！

经典！谢谢楼主分享

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