On 9 June 2015, the Rift Valley Institute Nairobi Forum held a public meeting to launch the report of the inception phase of the Forum’s research study, The Impact of War on Somali Men.  In the six-month study, funded by the World Bank’s Learning On Gender In Conflict in Africa (LOGiCA) trust fund, researchers from the Rift Valley Institute interviewed over 400 men and 100 women in South Central Somalia, Puntland, Somaliland, and Kenya. They shared their experiences and perspectives and reflected on what it means to be a man in Somali society after two decades of war, displacement, and instability. The study, is the first part of a planned longer study,which will examine the complex relationships of norms of masculinity and realities of manhood with conflict, peacemaking, and economic and political participation. The findings of the inception study and the Nairobi Forum discussion yielded insights into the importance of considering the war’s impacts on men and masculinity—and their further impacts on women and families—in policy-making for peace-building and development.

REPORT: IMPACT OF WAR ON SOMALI MEN

Moderator

Abdurahman Sharif
Somalia NGO Consortium

Panellists

Verena Phipps 
LOGICA, World Bank

Judy El-Bushra
IWM Research Team

Judith Gardner
IWM Research Team

Said Mohamed 
IWM Research Team

Haroon Yusuf  
IWM Research Team