Yasmin Mohamed Kahin, aged 24, a wife and mother of three children, is an exceptional woman whose story of determination serves to inspire other women – and their husbands – to aim high in education.
Yasmin lives in Hargeisa with her family. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Alpha University in the city. She has ambitions to become a university professor and support her family and her community.
Many married Somali women leave their education only to focus on parental and household duties. Negative traditional practices such as early marriage and a preference for boys over girls in education prevent many girls from going to school or continuing their education.
But Yasmin was married while in her second year at Alpha University in Hargeisa pursuing a bachelor degree in law. She refused to allow marriage to cut short her dreams of completing her studies.
“I was committed to continue with my studies whatever it took even if I was married,” she said.
“I believed that marriage was not an excuse or obstacle to my studies, so I moved ahead and attended my classes,” she added.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree while she was a mother of two, juggling studies with the work of taking care of her children.
She called on newly married wives, who are hesitant to continue their education, to finish their education and reach their ambition.
Yasmin luckily has been supported by her husband Barkhad Mohamud, who is himself a student in the same university.
Barkhad believes that educating women is key to the foundation of the family both economically and socially.
“I believe that supporting my wife in her education was a very important step towards raising our children,” he said.
“Our tradition contradicts this idea but we need to change this cycle to improve both economic and social status of our society,” he added.
The percentage of educated Somali women is very low. The few who get an opportunity still face challenges in competing for jobs, as most local companies prefer to employ men.
Culture expert Yussuf Abdulle Osman argues that the community needs to move with the times and drop old traditions of limiting women to the chores of housework and childcare.
“Modern women want to study and work to fulfil the needs of their family and relatives, the days when women relied on their men is over,” he declared.
