By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – Guurti, the upper chamber of parliament is from now henceforth a male only members club.
The only women member of the house of elders Hon Fatuma Jama Eileeye has resigned her membership of the upper chamber of parliament, thus practically making the house a male only one.
Du ring the day’s session in which she tendered her resignation chaired by deputy chair Elder Saeed Jama Ali the quorum of 47 saw 45 members vote yes while two abstained thus a unanimous approval of her resignation.
While addressing the media after her resignation Ms. Fatuma Jama justified her actions as pertaining to the fact she has failed to make an impact of her Guurti membership due to her loneliness and lack of feminine support in a chamber where 81 of the full quorum of 82 are male.
Said she, ” After four years of being the only female member of the Guurti and inability to effect any meaningful impact I have decided to resign thus facilitate my replacement with an appropriate person and gender since the house of elders is no place for a woman”
The outgoing member of the Guurti also informed that recent setbacks encountered by women in their quest for membership of local councils during the lost municipal council elections gave an impetus to her decision to resign.
Ms. Fatuma Jama became a member of the Guurti as a replacement for her late husband who passed away in office thus making history by becoming the first woman to sit as full member of the then male only Guurti.
Until mid-last year Ms. Jama together with Ms. Baar Saeed and Ms. Ikran Haji Daud made up the trio of women legislators a figure reduced by the house of representatives after it revoked the membership of legislators for perpetual abseentism, among them Ms. Daud.
With the resignation of Ms. Fatuma Jama from the Guurti, the women folk in the entire country have only Hon Baar Saeed as the lone voice to fight for their rights in the other male dominated House of Representatives of which she is always out voted 81-1
Talk of equality and gender balance and the mathematics you get amount to
1. 81 men + 0 women = Guurti
2. 81 men + 1 women= House of representatives
3. 162 men + 1 women = Total Somaliland legislators
