Woman's Got The Power: As Somali Economy Struggles, First Female Bank Governor Yussur Abrar Takes Th

[Samafal]

It's been a rough year for the Central Bank of Somalia, but now the country's first-ever female bank governor will try her hand at cleaning up the mess left by her much-maligned predecessor.

Can Somalia's First Female Central Bank Governor Restore An Economy In Turmoil?

Somali currency Wikipedia

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Yussur Abrar has been appointed by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to take over the bank pending a formal handover of power. She has three decades of experience in banking, insurance, telecommunications and finance consultancy.

 

The former central bank governor, Abdusalem Omer, a Somali-American with experience working for the mayoral office of Washington D.C., came under intense scrutiny this July following the publication of a report from the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, which alleged that Omer had played a major role in turning the central bank into a "slush fund" for corrupt officials in the capital city of Mogadishu. The report noted that $12 million had apparently “disappeared” into thin air during a transfer of $16.9 million to the central bank in Mogadishu.

 

Omer denies these accusations, and the Somali government asserted his innocence on Aug. 30 based on the results of an investigation it commissioned, calling the UN allegations "factually inaccurate and inexplicably biased." But on word that the bank's leadership was about to go through a major reshuffle, Omer sent in a letter of resignation on Sept 16.

 

When Omer first began his stewardship of the bank in January, he was starting from scratch. Somalia had only recently begun its recovery from two decades of failed statehood; the country disintegrated into a violent battleground following a coup that ousted former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

 

Last year, the implementation of a new constitution and central government was hailed as a milestone for the poverty-stricken country of 11 million. But establishment of a central bank was fraught by myriad problems. Comprehensive data on demographics and economics were -- and are -- largely nonexistent. Old Somali currency has been circulating in the Horn of Africa, without any official oversight, for decades. The country has no commercial banks, though wire transfer companies have sprouted up to bring back remittances from abroad worth about $1.5 billion annually.

 

Abrar will be tasked with setting the stage for a fiscal renaissance in Somalia. She intends to implement policies to address widespread poverty and unemployment, oversee the licensing of a network of commercial banks, and encourage the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework. Foreign aid monies will help to fund these initiatives; this week, international donors at a conference in Brussels pledged $2.4 billion to fund Somali's infrastructural and fiscal reconstruction.

 

 

The appointment is significant since Somalia has quite a ways to go in terms of women's rights. A UN development report last year ranked the country the fourth worst in the world in terms of gender equality. The challenges faced by women include genital mutilation, higher rates of unemployment, lack of property rights, and limited access to reproductive healthcare.

 

The government is working on the establishment of quotas to ensure women's representation in the national government, and Abrar's appointment to one of the country's most influential positions is an encouraging development on that front.

[Che -Guevara]

Power..hardly.

[Haatu]

I don't understand how these guys claim women suffer from unequal unemployment. At least 50% of the women I know back home do some sort of work to support their families.

[Marksman]

Really Haatu? How many women work at Dahabshiil for instance? How many women are district officers in Mogadishu? How come the quota of women in the government wasn't reached? How come women are more illiterate than men in Somalia? Etc. etc. There are more women in Somalia than men. Women are held back there.

 

The poorest and most backward of nations are always those that keep their women from reaching their potential. With this said, Somalia is making great strides in giving women a fair chance. Much more is to be done and this will make the recovery of Somalia even faster.

[Alpha Blondy]

is this position for minorities and under-represented folks?

[Haatu]

Marksman;978497 wrote:

Really Haatu? How many women work at Dahabshiil for instance? How many women are district officers in Mogadishu? How come the quota of women in the government wasn't reached? How come women are more illiterate than men in Somalia? Etc. etc. There are more women in Somalia than men. Women are held back there.

 

The poorest and most backward of nations are always those that keep their women from reaching their potential. With this said, Somalia is making great strides in giving women a fair chance. Much more is to be done and this will make the recovery of Somalia even faster.

I can only speak for my hometown and there a lot of the restaurants, cafes. shops, kiosks etc. are run by women not just staffed by them. Also, a lot of them work for the local government in many fields (for example a relative of mine is the Deputy Healthcare director for the district). As for why women are more illeterate than men, that's educational inequality, not employment. And the simple answer is most families can't afford the fees to send all their kids to school so the eldest son is given the education as the son "won't just get married and become a housewife" but will be more likely to support the family (in practice it's actually the other way round). That can be dealt with by making education free.

[Mad_Mullah]

Focus shouldn't be on women but on minorities, especially the Bantus who form the majority in the refugee camps.

[Nin-Yaaban]

Haatu;978493 wrote:

I don't understand how these guys claim women suffer from unequal unemployment. At least 50% of the women I know back home do some sort of work to support their families.

+ 1. Couldn't said it better.

[Alpha Blondy]

Mad_Mullah;978533 wrote:

Focus shouldn't be on women but on minorities, especially the Bantus who form the majority in the refugee camps.

^ wayooow,

 

these folks are emigrating back to Tanzania, Mozambique and along coastal areas, maha? there's a family reunification mashruuc, taking these folks back to their roots. very similar to Somalis in the west. they must decide where they belong.

 

check this vid.

 

 

[Hobbesian_Brute]

you couldn't said it more wrongly, women don't work among somalis, the few who work are pushed to work by circumstances like death of breadwinner husband, calamity and other extreme measures. my own sisters were denied work by their father who said women have no business mingling with men. don't comment for the sake.

[Haatu]

Hobbesian_Brute;978544 wrote:

you couldn't said it more wrongly, women don't work among somalis, the few who work are pushed to work by circumstances like death of breadwinner husband, calamity and other extreme measures. my own sisters were denied work by their father who said women have no business mingling with men. don't comment for the sake.

Alla yaa iska hadley. There is no civil war where I come from and no other calamities. Yet the women are very visible in the job market. Nut what would a missionary with rudimentary Somali know about the Horn?

[Hobbesian_Brute]

I challenge you on that Haatu, i know your little desert village and very few women are in employment, who are you trying to impress adeer. first you don't know reer xaloolshe now women are the majority in employment in our village as if its norway. baloney

[Haatu]

And what village am I from Mr Know it all?

[Wadani]

Marksman;978497 wrote:

Really Haatu? How many women work at Dahabshiil for instance? How many women are district officers in Mogadishu? How come the quota of women in the government wasn't reached? How come women are more illiterate than men in Somalia? Etc. etc. There are more women in Somalia than men. Women are held back there.

 

The poorest and most backward of nations are always those that keep their women from reaching their potential. With this said, Somalia is making great strides in giving women a fair chance. Much more is to be done and this will make the recovery of Somalia even faster.

Smh.

[Hobbesian_Brute]

Haatu;978566 wrote:

And

what village am I from

Mr Know it all?

..tan networka siin aanan qabanayn ba. you know it