On June 13, 2025, in the town of Lascanood located near the contested border between Somalia and Somaliland, two young sisters, Fahima Yasiin Mohamoud (16 years old) and Farah Yasiin Mohamoud (17 years old) , were brutally beaten and gang-raped by twenty-five (25) men aged between 17 and 20 years old.
We acknowledge and commend the government for initiating the long-overdue process of establishing a Human Rights Commission, an essential constitutional obligation and a key demand of civil society actors across the country for over a decade.
While this step is welcome and reflects the
Since April 12, 2025, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network has closely followed the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) brutal attack on Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, North Darfur. SIHA has issued two statements on the situation, highlighting
PRESS STATEMENT: Current Update on Atrocities at Zamzam Displacement Camp, North Darfur Read More »
Your Excellency, Honourable Commissioner Mudford Zachariah Mwandenga,
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is a regional feminist network with over 200 member organizations working across South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Somali region. We welcome this opportunity to address the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) this session.
We wish to bring to your attention the deeply worrying situation of women and girls in Ethiopia.
Your Excellency, Honourable Commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie,
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is a regional feminist network with over 200 member organizations working across South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Somali region. We welcome this opportunity to address the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) this session.
We note with concern that Somalia remains one of the most perilous countries for women and girls, with gender-based violence (GBV)
Your Excellency, Honorable Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso,
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is a regional feminist network with over 200 member organizations working across South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Somali region. We welcome this opportunity to address the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) this session.
We note our deepest concern at the worsening situation of women and girls in South Sudan, a country that continues
Your Excellency, Honourable Commissioner Hatem Essaiem,
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is a regional feminist network with over 200 member organizations working across South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Somali region. We welcome this opportunity to address the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) this session.
We welcome this opportunity to engage with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) on the current context across the Horn of Africa (HoA) and the rights of women and girls in the region during its 83rd Ordinary Session. Founded in 1995, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is an indigenous feminist network comprising more than 200 civil society organizations dedicated to advancing gender justice across Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Somali Region.
The Horn of Africa region has a history of complex peace and security issues driven by governance challenges and regional geopolitics, leading to prolonged and renewed cycles of conflicts. As a result, the region has seen high levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) against women and girls. Statistics show that 42% of women in the region have experienced some form of physical or…
In the aftermath of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) brutal attack on Zamzam Camp — one of Darfur’s largest and oldest displacement camps —on April 12, 2025, new and horrifying details continue to emerge. Zamzam, home to between 350,000 and 500,000 displaced civilians, has become the latest epicentre of mass atrocity crimes perpetrated by the RSF.
Press Statement: Update on Atrocities at Zamzam Displacement Camp, North Darfur Read More »
