Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

Gender equality and women's empowerment are central to Somalia's sustainable development, peacebuilding and state-building efforts. While Somali women and girls continue to face significant barriers to equal participation and opportunities, they play a critical role in driving peace, resilience, economic recovery and climate action across the country.  According to the UNDP Gender Inequality Index -- with a score of 0.675 at 192^nd position out of 193 countries -- Somalia continues to face significant gender disparities, reflecting persistent challenges in women’s health, empowerment and labour market participation

Somalia has long been a patriarchal society, where men hold most of the power and women face significant discrimination and gender-based violence. While progress has been made in recent years towards promoting gender equality, significant challenges remain. Women face barriers to accessing education, employment, and political participation. In terms of political representation, for example, women are severely underrepresented in the country's government and decision-making bodies. Despite a commitment to a 30% quota for women in the 11th Parliamentary elections (2021-2022), the representation of women in the House of the People remains low at around 20%, which is lower than the figure of 24% in 2016.

Guided by the UNDP Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2029, the Regional Gender Equality Strategy for the Arab States 2024–2026, the Somalia Country Programme Document (CPD) 2026–2030 and the UNDP Somalia Gender Equality Strategy, UNDP Somalia integrates gender equality and women's empowerment across all areas of its programming and operations.

UNDP Somalia supports women's leadership, political participation, access to justice, economic empowerment and resilience to climate and conflict-related shocks. Through policy advice, capacity development, institutional strengthening and community-based interventions, UNDP works with government counterparts, civil society organizations, women's networks, youth groups and the private sector to advance gender-responsive governance and inclusive development. UNDP has also set up programmes to reduce conflict and violence against women, established One-Stop Centres for survivors of gender-based and sexual violence and abuse and supports women's economic empowerment, including in IDP camps and host communities, through training and grants. Building on this work, UNDP's Somalia Transformational Governance Project is now supporting the rollout of Somalia's National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2025–2029, with gender equality as a contributing focus. The UN Joint Justice and Correction Project (JJCP), the Joint Police Programme (JPP-II) and the second phase of Women, Peace and Protection Programme (WPP-II) place gender equality and empowerment at their heart.

UNDP supports gender-responsive planning, budgeting and policy development at federal and state levels and promotes the integration of gender equality considerations across national development frameworks. The organization also invests in strengthening women's leadership and participation in governance, justice, security, peacebuilding, climate action and sustainable livelihoods.

Through its climate, environment and resilience portfolio, UNDP supports women as leaders and agents of change in climate adaptation, natural resource governance, disaster risk reduction and sustainable livelihoods. Special attention is given to strengthening women’s participation in community decision-making structures and improving their access to economic opportunities arising from climate-resilient development initiatives.

UNDP works closely with women's organizations, civil society networks and community platforms across Somalia to amplify women's voices and strengthen their participation in policy dialogue, peacebuilding processes and socio-economic development initiatives.

Gender equality is mainstreamed across UNDP Somalia’s programme portfolios, including governance and peacebuilding, rule of law and access to justice, climate change and resilience, inclusive economic growth, youth empowerment and sustainable natural resource management.

UNDP Somalia works with a broad range of partners, including federal and state-level government institutions, civil society organizations, women’s networks, youth platforms, academia, media, the private sector, development partners and other UN agencies. Through these partnerships, UNDP promotes a rights-based and inclusive approach that combines targeted interventions for women and girls with systematic gender mainstreaming across all programmes.

Key Achievements in 2025

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

 In 2025, UNDP Somalia delivered significant advances in gender equality and women’s empowerment across its governance, justice, peacebuilding, climate resilience and economic development portfolios. Guided by the UNDP Somalia Gender Equality Strategy (2023–2026), these achievements contributed to reducing structural barriers, strengthening women's leadership and agency, and promoting more inclusive and sustainable development outcomes across Somalia.

Inclusive Governance, Political Participation & Reconciliation

UNDP played a key role in ensuring women’s voice and leadership in Somalia’s governance reforms. Women accounted for 47% of all participants in Somalia’s nationwide public consultations on chapter 5 to 9 to inform constitutional review (927 out of 1,961), with exceptionally high turnouts at the Somali National University (141 women) and Kaxda District (258 women). Women contributed strategic inputs to the National Reconciliation Framework (NRF) review, advancing priorities on social cohesion and restorative justice. The Ministries of Family and Human Rights and Youth and Sports mobilized women and youth networks, ensuring inclusive policy dialogues across regions. Through the Dowlad-Kaab Programme, UNDP strengthened women’s leadership in local government: 188 female municipal officials (49.3% of total) were trained in HR, PFM, procurement, planning, and administration, with 95.9% reporting improved job performance. In addition, 1,200 citizens—50% of them women—engaged in district consultations, shaping local development plans.

Bilan Media:  Somali women making the news!

Through the Bilan Media project, UNDP provides capacity building support to a women-led media unit (8 women) that regularly produces reports and talk shows whose reports and programmes reached more than 10 million views and engagements across digital media platforms in 2025. The project trained and offered job placements to 10 additional female journalists from 5 Federal Member States and provided grants to 10 women content creators. It also offered internships for recently graduated women journalists that led to some full-time jobs and professional advancement contributing to enhancing women journalists' editorial leadership and space for women voices towards social change in the Somalia media landscape.

Justice, Protection & Ending Violence Against Women

UNDP contributed to joint UN efforts that supported the adoption of the Jubaland Prohibition of FGM Act in 2025, alongside UN Women, government institutions, civil society organizations and other partners.17 women’s peace networks regularly engaged with courts, police, and district authorities, earning recognition from religious and traditional leaders and shifting norms around women as peacebuilders. Survivors of sexual and gender-based violence were supported through One Stop Centres in Kismayo and Baidoa, receiving medical care, psychosocial counseling, and legal support through coordinated, multisectoral services.

Women’s Economic Empowerment & Livelihoods

UNDP expanded women’s access to income, markets, and economic decision-making. A total of 180 women-owned SMEs received entrepreneurship training and seed funding, improving business management skills, income generation opportunities and economic resilience. Fifty women were trained in fisheries, especially on transportation and storage to promote value chains —a traditionally male-dominated sector—with most securing employment and increasing their income by USD 100–350 per month, leading to visible improvements in household access to education, health, and safe drinking water. Similarly, through a new TVET initiative, over 600 women were enrolled in job-oriented programs linked to peacebuilding.

Digital Inclusion & Identity

Women’s inclusion in digital public infrastructure (DPI) reached record levels, with UNDP-supported National Digital ID registration recording 47% women registrants in 2025—up from near-zero in 2024. This achievement was made possible through civic education campaigns informed by behavioral insights. The digital national ID, now linked to government and private sector services, is expected to expand women’s access to services, jobs, finance, and justice systems, particularly for women and girls who have historically lacked access to formal identification systems.

Climate Action, Water Governance & Resilience

UNDP promoted gender-responsive climate governance and green livelihoods. Women accounted for 15–30% of membership in new Water Resource User Associations (WRUAs) in drought-hit areas, shaping water allocation and dispute resolution. Gender-responsive consultations informed Somalia’s NDC 3.0, integrating inputs from women-led CSOs and disability representatives into adaptation, finance, and just transition planning.
In green livelihoods, 30 out of 70 youth trained in climate-smart agriculture were young women who adopted hydroponics and joined MSMEs. The MSc IWRM Internship Programme created pathways for women into technical water roles, with graduates—including women—transitioning into government positions. These initiatives strengthened women's participation in local natural resource governance and climate adaptation decision-making processes.

Women in Energy and Technical Fields

UNDP ensured women’s inclusion in Somalia’s evolving energy sector. Of 133 participants trained across five technical energy trainings, 44 were women (33%), covering GIS mapping, tariff setting, mini-grid design, and regulatory frameworks. A standardized solar and hybrid mini-grid curriculum, now accredited, embeds gender-responsive content. 

Peacebuilding & PVE: Women as Drivers of Cohesion

Women played an increasingly visible role in peacebuilding, reconciliation and the prevention of violent extremism through community dialogue, conflict prevention and local peace initiatives. They participated in conflict mapping, community policing, and district reconciliation dialogues. UNDP-supported youth and PVE programming included strong female engagement (600+) and gender-sensitive storytelling.

Institutional Leadership: Gender Equality Seal & Green Seal G+

UNDP Somalia strengthened institutional accountability by joining the new cycle of the UNDP Gender Equality Seal for Development and became the only country office in RBAS to join the Green Seal G+ initiative, linking gender with climate action and environmental sustainability. This places Somalia’s Country Office at the forefront of global gender-environment leadership.

Women Candidates Platform in Somaliland

In Somaliland, UNDP supported the establishment and operationalization of the first Women Candidates Platform to advance women’s participation and representation in the political process. The platform also strengthened coordination among development partners and civil society organizations, reducing duplication and enabling more strategic and complementary support to women candidates. This coordinated approach led to a joint capacity assessment by UNDP and NAGAAD, informing a series of targeted trainings that enhanced the leadership and campaign skills of 47 women candidates ahead of the local council and parliamentary elections.

Read this photo story to know more: https://undpsomalia.exposure.co/promoting-gender-equality-in-somalia-2025-highlights