Killing of three women in a week sparks femicide protests in Somalia

Police name husbands as suspects in separate deaths of women, two of whom were pregnant

The deaths of three women in one week, all allegedly murdered by their husbands, has caused outrage in Somalia and sparked days of protests over the country’s femicide rates.

Police have named the suspects in all three killings, which took place in the first week of February, as the dead women’s husbands. Two of the victims were pregnant. Even in a country where – after more than three decades of conflict – death and violence are part of everyday life, there have been demonstrations in the capital, Mogadishu, with protesters holding up placards showing photos of Lul Abdi Aziz Jazirain her hospital bed. The 28-year-old had been doused with petrol and set alight. She suffered severe burns and survived in agony for seven days after being attacked.

Naima Said Salah is a writer with all-female media team Bilan in Somalia. It is funded by the European Union through the UN Development Programme and hosted by Dalsan Media Group in Mogadishu