ASSIST Alum Ubah Ali ’16 Works Towards Justice for Women and Girls In Somaliland Through Education and Female Empowerment
By Camille Wilson
“As women, you always have challenges to even have the option to go to school. They see you as a woman and a wife—you are expected to be a housewife. At the end of the day, I was a rebel.” Social activist and feminist from Somaliland, Ubah Ali, sat down with ASSIST to discuss her experience studying at Miss Hall’s School in Massachusetts as an ASSIST Scholar, and her ongoing advocacy for further education on the dangers of female genital mutilation in Somaliland.
Before arriving at Miss Hall’s School in 2015, Ubah had already taken initiative to become involved in affecting change in her country and community, starting her own organization for educating orphans and disadvantaged students in Somaliland, called Rajo: Hope for Somaliland Community, at just 18 years old. And having experienced societal and cultural oppressions based on gender, Ubah says moving to Massachusetts to attend Miss Hall’s (an all-girl’s secondary school) gave her a different perspective on girlhood and womanhood that helped to fuel her activism.
“When I went to an all girl’s school, it gave me another perspective on women’s capacity,” she explains. “Miss Hall’s school gave me a lot of tools, and it was the climax of my life. If I didn’t go to the school I don’t know where my life would be right now. Having all the opportunities was something I was missing in my childhood. I didn’t even have the ability to play sports as a child. I played soccer in school.”
Today, Ubah is co-founder of the non-profit Solace For Somaliland Girls Foundation, an organization committed to eradicating female genital mutilation.
“[Solace For Somaliland Girls Foundation] was created back in 2018, for the purpose of educating on the horrors of female genital mutilation, and we connect with community leaders to do this,” she says. According to the LA Times, the UN reported that 98% of girls between ages 5 and 11 suffered FGM in Somaliland, as of 2020. As a person who became a victim of FGM at the age of 6, the organization’s mission is closely tied to Ubah’s own experience. Solace for Somaliland Girls Foundation increases awareness through campaigns and workshops on the mental and physical consequences of FGM. The organization is also responsible for the first anti-FGM club for high school students in Somaliland.
“I usually work with educating refugees and other groups, like children who are homeless, or people who want to pursue private education,” Ubah mentions. “One of the latest initiatives has been buying clothes for homeless children, and we’ve been doing this for the past 3 years. When it comes to women’s empowerment, women are always seen as second class citizens and there are no women in parliament to support us, so it’s necessary. And I also educate people on why we need women in those spaces. We need people who will be there to advocate for us.”
Within the realm of feminist and social justice activism, Ubah’s attention is not relegated to just her home country. While studying for a bachelor’s degree in Politics and Human Rights at the American University of Beirut, she describes how she was exposed to the realities of both gender and race-based brutality. “I lived in Lebanon and did my undergraduate degree there. In my Uni, I realized that African girls were there to do domestic work and the labor laws were not being respected. They’ve gotten used to mistreating African girls. And now there are at least 2 domestic workers commit suicide in Lebanon every year. For me, it’s all about human rights.”
Thinking back on her time at Miss Hall’s School, Ubah believes, in a way, she was able to share her educational experience with her community back in Somaliland. She says: “I was able to reciprocate with my community and my siblings. I was so empowered, and it made me say I want to live in a place where women feel as though they belong. And I love how the people in my community have changed their mentality that women should be seen as a factory machine. And of course I still have more work to do.”
In 2020, Ubah was included on BBC’s list of the world’s most influential women. In November of this year, she graduated with distinctions from University of Stirling with a Master of Science degree in International Conflict and Cooperation. Follow her work through Solace For Somaliland Girl’s Foundation on Instagram @solaceforsomalilandgirls.