Hargeisa - The overall look of the town, the hustle bustle, the dusty roads and the little shops all around always reminded me of small towns in the rural India. The visible difference is in the attires of people and the big imported cars on the road. Looked at from close quarters, Somali society has loads of surprises for someone who is on a visit to this part of the world for the first time.
Out on the roads, one would find lots of women clad in their traditional dress (Dirreh) which is a long, kaftan sleeved, colourful gown with a head scarf (Massar) and a shawl (Shalmath) wrapped around the upper part of the body, moving around busily on the streets. The strength of Somali women has always surprised me. Many of them manage the household chores, look after the children and also are the breadwinners for the family. Usually the numbers of children in Somali households are quite high. The numbers could range from four to fifteen from just one woman. Having two kids myself, I can imagine the mammoth task these mothers have at hand, just around their children. But we see here that a woman’s responsibility cannot be limited to reproductive duties alone but she also has to take the mantle of being the one responsible to bring money home. One would find women doing several jobs which in other parts of the world is purely men’s job- for example if you go to the meat market, you will see women butchers. The surprising fact is that the butchers here are always women.
Talking about the vegetable market, yes it is always so crowded and mostly with women. Sometimes one can see women with faces all coated with pastes of different colors and textures. That’s a unique feature in Somali society; one can go out with a face mask on for shopping. I can understand, with the busy schedule that a Somali woman has, one cannot put on a face mask and wait for it to dry and then wash before going out- every moment counts. A Somali woman never misses out on her beauty regimen even with her busy schedule, especially treating the skin with masks (made of chick peas flour, turmeric and other Somali ingredients) and the hair with henna regularly.
The resilience of the Somalilanders has always been surprising and inspiring to me. Having gone through severe hardships and trauma owing to the civil war during Siad Barre’s regime, having lost many of their near and dear ones, having to flee and be in exile for years, the way they have bounced back is worthy of appreciation.
Somaliland has been trying to be accepted by the international community as a separate nation with Hargeisa as its capital since long but is not yet successful. An independent state with a stable democratically elected government the recognition is long due but surprisingly, outsiders are not aware of its existence but are only aware of it as Somalia (with Capital Mogadishu), although many international aid agencies and the UN offices operate from Hargeisa.
Out on the roads, one would find lots of women clad in their traditional dress (Dirreh) which is a long, kaftan sleeved, colourful gown with a head scarf (Massar) and a shawl (Shalmath) wrapped around the upper part of the body, moving around busily on the streets. The strength of Somali women has always surprised me. Many of them manage the household chores, look after the children and also are the breadwinners for the family. Usually the numbers of children in Somali households are quite high. The numbers could range from four to fifteen from just one woman. Having two kids myself, I can imagine the mammoth task these mothers have at hand, just around their children. But we see here that a woman’s responsibility cannot be limited to reproductive duties alone but she also has to take the mantle of being the one responsible to bring money home. One would find women doing several jobs which in other parts of the world is purely men’s job- for example if you go to the meat market, you will see women butchers. The surprising fact is that the butchers here are always women. 
The shopping for the household is always done by the women, it is embarrassing for a man to be seen shopping for vegetables and grocery. I have never seen a Somali man carrying his kid/s around. Someone told me that it is not accepted for men to be taking care of kids or even carrying them. I have few experiences myself about the disapproval. The recent one was when we came out of the shopping mall and were waiting for the driver who had gone to pray. As usually J was carrying Yohan and Tejas was holding on to my hand. As we waited, few men sipping tea in the tea stall nearby offered a seat to J with biting remark to me mentioning how he needs a break.
Talking about the vegetable market, yes it is always so crowded and mostly with women. Sometimes one can see women with faces all coated with pastes of different colors and textures. That’s a unique feature in Somali society; one can go out with a face mask on for shopping. I can understand, with the busy schedule that a Somali woman has, one cannot put on a face mask and wait for it to dry and then wash before going out- every moment counts. A Somali woman never misses out on her beauty regimen even with her busy schedule, especially treating the skin with masks (made of chick peas flour, turmeric and other Somali ingredients) and the hair with henna regularly.
The resilience of the Somalilanders has always been surprising and inspiring to me. Having gone through severe hardships and trauma owing to the civil war during Siad Barre’s regime, having lost many of their near and dear ones, having to flee and be in exile for years, the way they have bounced back is worthy of appreciation.
Somaliland has been trying to be accepted by the international community as a separate nation with Hargeisa as its capital since long but is not yet successful. An independent state with a stable democratically elected government the recognition is long due but surprisingly, outsiders are not aware of its existence but are only aware of it as Somalia (with Capital Mogadishu), although many international aid agencies and the UN offices operate from Hargeisa.
