IGAD Trains Somali Women to Strengthen Role in Peacebuilding and Mediation

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Somali women leaders and members of peace committees have completed a three-day training in mediation, negotiation and conflict prevention, as regional body IGAD seeks to strengthen women’s participation in peacebuilding and decision-making.

The training, held in Mogadishu, brought together women participants to develop practical skills in conflict analysis, mediation, negotiation, dialogue facilitation, advocacy and gender-responsive peacebuilding, according to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

Participants also examined the Women, Peace and Security agenda and explored how women can contribute to preventing conflicts, supporting reconciliation and strengthening community resilience.

The programme moved beyond classroom discussions through role-playing and practical exercises based on conflict scenarios. Participants worked through approaches to early warning, stakeholder engagement and inclusive peace processes, allowing them to practise mediation and negotiation techniques.

The training concluded with participants developing community action plans aimed at increasing women’s leadership, strengthening women-led peace initiatives and improving early-warning and conflict-prevention mechanisms in their communities.

IGAD said participants committed to applying the skills gained during the training and promoting greater inclusion of women in peace committees, governance structures and conflict-resolution processes.

The initiative was implemented by IGAD in partnership with Somalia’s Ministry of Family and Human Rights Development under the Building Women’s Economic Resilience for Sustainable Peace (BWERSP) Project, financed by the African Development Bank through its Transition Support Facility. The project is being implemented in Somalia and South Sudan.

The training is part of a broader series of IGAD-backed activities in Somalia aimed at addressing barriers to women’s participation in peacebuilding. In late September, IGAD convened government officials, traditional and religious leaders, women, youth and civil society representatives in Mogadishu to discuss social and cultural norms that restrict women’s involvement in peace processes.

Participants in that session identified restrictive social norms, limited access to resources and information, economic constraints and women’s underrepresentation in leadership structures among the obstacles to greater participation.

IGAD has also held earlier BWERSP activities focused on strengthening gender-responsive peacebuilding and improving coordination between government institutions and other actors involved in Somalia’s Women, Peace and Security agenda.

The latest training reflects an effort to move from discussions about women’s participation toward practical skills and community-level action, with participants expected to use their experience and new mediation skills in both customary and formal peace processes.