Turkey trains first female officers to join Somalia's police

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Turkey completed training of female Somali police officers in one of the inaugural projects that would see more women join the SPF which is dominated by men in the patriarchal society.

On Saturday, 49 female police officers graduated in a ceremony that was held in Turkey Saturday. Police Commander General Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hijar officiated the function which was attended by a number of Turkish police officials.

Somalia has been trying to boost gender mainstreaming within the public sector, something which is also manifested in the ongoing elections. Already, a number of female senators have been elected in local polls.

The officers drawn from the Haram'ad police unit graduated from a Turkish training academy. Previously, Haramcad was predominantly male officers, who are given sophisticated training for the sake of stabilizing the fragile country.

General Hijar said the group was the last group to have completed the advanced training. Turkey has been keen to improve both the country's police force and the army, which are undergoing major rebuilding.

“This training is part of a special operations training. This batch of female officers is the first to complete this training,” said Hijar, who has been in charge of the police for the past few years.

Haram'ad police have been heavily involved in the country's politics during the four-year presidency of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who used the elite forces to suppress his critics, hijack the elections in the Federal States and the independent media.

Besides the Harama’ad police unit, Turkey also trains the Gorgor Battalion of the Somali National National Army [SNA]. Turkey also operates a military training academy in Mogadishu which trains army recruits.

According to the police boss, the female officers are expected to return home soon. Turkey usually supports them even long after their graduation due to their existing relationship with Mogadishu, which has flourished in recent months.

GAROWE ONLINE