Friday, December 17, 2010

Somalian Muslim women stands up to militia

Hawa Abdi is a Muslim OB-GYN in Somalia.

Abdi opened a camp for 90,000 people for people "displaced by civil war," a hospital, a school for 850 children (mostly girls), and a jail for men who beat up their wives, in response to the armed militias in the country.

The New York Times reported the militia Hizb al-Islam, a group that is against women taking powerful roles in the country, destroyed the hospital after Abdi refused to step down. The militia later said she could operate the hospital under their command. Again, she refused.

The Times reported Abdi's daughter Deqo Mohamedr, a doctor in Atlanta, asked her mother to give-in to the militia's demands.

"No! I will die with dignity," said Abdi.

Under pressure from Abdi's supporters, the militia group has since apologized, leaving her hospital battered behind.

Abdi is in the United States looking for donations to rebuild the hospital.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/opinion/16kristof.html?_r=1&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB

1 comment:

MarjnHomer said...

i heard about her in glamour magazine. she's the woman with 2 daughters right?