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Two years ago, Maadey had sought refuge at the Bisiqley camp, after fleeing
her home in Qoryoley, 120 km from Mogadishu, during a fierce battle between
Al-Shabaab and joint troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia
(AMISOM) and the Somali National Army. However, little did she know that in
February this year what happened would cause a permanent scar in her life:
two armed men stormed her shack in the middle of the night and raped her in
front of her children.
With a pistol and a kitchen knife they entered my house which has no door.
Both of them raped me. My eldest son who is 10 years wailed but one of the
men gagged him. They threatened to shoot me if I refused to cooperate, she
narrated tearfully.
Emotionally scarred by the attack, Maadey finally gathered courage and
sought help from HINNA, a local non-governmental organization supported by
the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), which helps
vulnerable women overcome their experiences. Maadey says she will be
forever grateful to HINNA who rushed her to hospital for treatment and paid
for her hospital bills.
The 28-year-old maintains she made the right decision to first seek help from
HINNA before reporting the matter to the police. I never knew my attackers
and as such it was useless for me to report to the police, Maadey, who earns
a living by doing odd jobs in the city, explained.
On 19th June, Maadey joined fellow citizens, in Mogadishu, to commemorate
the first International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict in
an event held at the HINNA headquarters.
Though the pain eventually went away, thoughts of that dreaded night
continue to linger in my mind. At times I feel defeated and hopeless. I have
tried to overcome the incident but the thoughts just keep coming back. We
must continue fighting this crime, she observed.
If the experience alone wasnt enough, Maadey had to endure stigmatization
from her community members in the wake of her assault. There is the issue
of being shamed and stigmatized. I know I will have to deal with it for the rest
of my life, Maadey said, adding that she now lives in constant fear that her
molesters may strike again.
The need to end sexual violence is greater than ever and more and efforts are
in place through a combination of actions undertaken by the Federal
Government of Somalia, the United Nations, international and local nongovernmental organizations and the donor community. These joint efforts
have resulted in tangible achievements through the implementation of the
National Action Plan on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict in Somalia, which
established a Steering Committee, co-chaired by the Ministry of Women,
Human Rights and Development and UNSOM. HINNA is also part of the
organizations of the committee whom play a key role in Implementation of
National Action Plan on Ending Sexual violence in Conflict.
END