Fatuma Nur

[Nina Fox]

Alpha Blondy;730934 wrote:

strikes me as a self-hating opportunist type riding on the whole ''somalia is war-torn'' malakay. .

LMAO True.

 

What I can't digest is the fact that AL-SHABAAB actually have credibility or lack there of, worth writing about. Horta have y'all noticed how the world is cashing in on our misfortune, particularly US movies and Crime TV Series like NCIS, The Killing, Law and Order etc. It seems as if they cannot pull any ratings without mentioning Somalia.

[Polanyi]

After reading this article:http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2011/07/01/5612167.htm I have to say Fatumo is full of rubbish. bet her entire story is made up. ha ha.

[Mooge]

is this kenya star?

[burahadeer]

congratulations sis..I see few shabab wanabees don't like it!!!!

[Somalina]

Fatuma Noor

guardian.co.uk

Sunday 3 July 2011 00.06 BST

 

Kenya: I was told that I deserved to die – for being a female journalist

 

It's not always easy being a female investigative journalist, even in the west. But imagine going to do an interview and not being able to shake hands with the interviewee or indeed even being able to sit in front of him to ask questions.

 

In Somali culture – I grew up in a Somali family in Kenya – it is wrong to speak and raise an opinion in front of men or even to shake hands with a man of no relation to you. Even travelling for work unaccompanied by a relative is not permitted.

 

Somewhere on the Kenyan-Somali border, a Somali woman was chosen to be a town chief, but she fled from the town because of violent opposition from the elders. As a journalist, I tried to get comments from the Somali elders, but they then turned on me and threatened to punish me also.

 

The women who attempt leadership positions or take on roles such as journalism are often intimidated and many end up giving up the profession at the early stages of their career. Political instability and extremist groups in Somalia have posed an even greater challenge, with the introduction of strict sharia. These hardline groups even disapprove of women working in informal markets or within women's organisations.

 

Coming from a conservative Somali background, my parents, who buy and sell clothes, refused to fund my journalism course but were ready to pay for any other. (The need to meet and talk to men was, for them, the major problem with journalism.) Three years down the line, my choice still causes a strained relationship with the family. In a way, one could understand their reasons – as a female journalist, you face regular threats and intimidation.

 

I have had more than a few of those in my short career as a journalist. One time I did a story about a Somali woman who was shunned by her community and was ousted by her own sons and husband because she was suffering from HIV/Aids. I received phone calls – not what you would describe as friendly calls – from men in my native Somali community who believe that some things should not be shared with the world; suffering from HIV was certainly one of those things I shouldn't share, they thought.

 

One of the pleasures of being a journalist is the chance to travel and meet people. But according to the strictures of the culture in which I was raised, a woman should not travel unless she is accompanied by her brother, father or husband.

 

As a woman, you are then left to choose between career and family since if you choose the former, there is the risk of being banished by your family. A typical Muslim man would prefer a housewife to a journalist who travels a lot and has odd working hours. Even if you persist, you are not meant to interact with men other than your husband and immediate family members. As a reporter, this poses a challenge, to say the least.

 

When I started as a journalist, my editor did not fully grasp the limitations that come with my culture. But after constant pestering from my parents to fire me she got the message! (Sometimes now, she is careful when determining where I should go and what I should do, though I like to push.) To do my job as an investigative journalist properly stories often require days on the road. And this has led to a constant war between my parents and myself, not helped by some stories, on more than one occasion, almost getting me killed.

 

Recently, I wrote a series of stories on the al-Shabaab group, "the Taliban of Somalia", a series for which last week I was lucky enough to receive an award. The series dealt with men of Somali descent, raised elsewhere, often the US, "returning" to fight for al-Shabaab. I was travelling with recruits from different countries, heading towards Mogadishu, when we were surrounded by some of the militia.

 

They did not care much about who we were and seemed happy for the men accompanying me to get on with their work but my presence as a woman offended them. I wasn't married and had no relation within my group– reason enough for punishment, even execution.

 

There then followed an eight-hour ordeal in the hands of the militia group. They had guns fixed on my head, while smashing my belongings and discussing among themselves just what sort of punishment was fitting. The elder of the group finally decided that I should be killed and only the intervention of a contact that I had previously made, arguing vigorously in my favour, saved me.

 

Every single time I do any Somali-related story, to avoid problems with the family and immediate relations I choose never to disclose where I will be going and who I'm travelling with. It's perhaps then not a surprise that there should be such a small number of women in the Somali media And those who survive are more likely to work as radio presenters, not needing to go out and get stories. Even then, there can be problems. Bhajo Mohamud, who was a reporter in one of the radio stations, has had to leave the country and even in exile still gets threatening calls.

 

Beyond the particular problems of the Somali community, there's a general scarcity of women in our newsrooms, making it difficult for burning issues to be discussed from a female perspective.

 

Catherine Gicheru, a distinguished woman journalist and the managing editor of the Kenyan Star, says that a female journalist has to work extra hard so that nobody says she can't do this or that. "You must be willing to take anything that is thrown at you in order to survive in the career."

 

These are all issues that are faced by our counterparts in western newsrooms. But specific cultural barriers mean that fewer women, says Gicheru, want to break into the typically male-dominated areas such as politics.

 

As for investigative journalism, a gun to your head is not much of an encouragement.

 

Fatuma Noor was last week awarded the top prize at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2011 awards ceremony for her investigative three-part series on the "Al-Shabaab". (You can read it at http://www.nairobistar.com/lifestyle/128-lifestyle/29535) She is at the Observer as part of the David Astor Journalism Programme.

[Che -Guevara]

^Talking about preaching the choir.

[Nabad_dadaye]

faduma nuur runtii dadaal badan bey suubisay weyna ku guuleysatay iney biladaas hesho ,lakin sida hadalkeeda ka muuqdo hadaanan laga qorin ,wuxuu cadeynayaa ineysan aqoon weyn u laheyn diinteeda islaamka ,maadaama eey ka dhigeyso ( arinta maxramka ama adeecida waalidka wax dhaqan ah ) eeysan ahayn wax diinta ku jiro eebana u dajiyay si loo dhowro maslaxada bini aadamka , tusaale ahaan safarka eey soomaliya ku gashay eey alshabab wareysiga kula yeelatay waa halis maadaama aadan ogeyn waxa aad kala kulmeyso dadkaas qaar sidoodaba ciyaal suuq ah ayaa ku jiro kufsi iyo dhacba ey ugeysan kareen lakin Illaah ayaa un ka badbaadiyay , waalidkeeda kama waramin waana gabar taasna waa arin sideeda udhib badan , lakin towbada wey wey furan tahay cowradeeda iney dhowrato waxyaalaha diinta ka hor imaanayana iney iska dhaafto ayaa wanaagsan .

[Nabad_dadaye]

waalidkana waxaa fiican inuusan ilmaha ka hor istaagin wexey rabaan laakin tusiyo wadada saxda ee diinta islaamka qabto , waxa ubanaan iyo waxaan ubanaaneyn diinta iney tahay way of life eeysan ahayn shey masaajida un ku eg ,inaad journalist noqoto diinta wey baneyneysaa lakin axkaamta kalee faaidada u ah noloshaada waa inaad ka fikirtaa .

gabdho dhanka saxaafada ah waa loo baahan yahay maadama bulshado eyan eheyn rag un kaliya .

[genius pauper.]

least you forget, not shaking hands or not intermingling with men is ISLAM, not a somali culture.

 

and this girl, allah hasoo hanuuniyo.

 

p.s. for somalina to copy paste the utter of a strayed young somali girl, who thinks talking ill about islam,( whether knowingly on by ignorance), is investigative journalism, amounts to spreading falsehood.

[x-madiino]

mash allah, allaha u siyaadiyo walaasheea,, plus she is so beautiful,, i love somali girls,, umaaac

[burahadeer]

Everything forbidden under Islam....do wat you have to do.This strictness is last 20yrs since rise of fundamentalism....we need to go back pre 1990..we were normal people.

PROUD OF YA sis..neva,eva bend.

[burahadeer]

And don't listen to destructive forces under islam umbrella. Believing in any religion or not is an individual thing...no one else has a say wat so eva.

[Aaliyyah]

The way this lady chooses to dress is none of your business. It is something between her and the one who created her. So stop talking badly of her based on the way she chose to dress..

 

the least you can do is congratulate her for her achievement. If not then just move on..no need to talk nonsense.

 

salaam

[Al-Miskiin]

@Aaliyah walaal,

 

with all due recpect, how can u in the music thread talk about how haram music is, and that one should listen to the quran, and in this thread say that "this is between her and Allah etc"!

 

And u'r calling the brothers advice or opinion in this thread "nonsens", ukhti, with all due respect, Allah ka cabso, one need to be consistent in his speach, we cant pick and choose in Islam.

Having u'r awrah covered is a bigger responsibility than the music issue.

 

All I'm say'n is, dont make this kind of stuff personal, and dont make it like its about attacking the sister. No one is attacking her, and even is there was, than there would be some truth in they're speach.

But I think it's wrong to criminalise the ones that says something islamicly like "cawradeeda inay asturtaa fiican" etc.

 

We should rather focus on people like Burahadeer, that is calling Islam for "fundamentalist". Waxaas baa qalad ah, waana xadgudub meesha ugu dambaysa.

And no one have said anything about it, laakiin dadkii yidhi "is astur" loo dhamee.

 

I've lately seen that anyone that shows a little bit islamic opinion in some of the discussions, isla markaba waa lagu yaaci with "fundementalist, Al-shabaab, moove on"!

Where on the other hand, la arkayo dad dambi cad qof ugu hambalyaynaya. Ama dambi cad ku taagan u sacabinaya, just take a look on some of the threads.

Why are we supporting dambiga, and being proud of the sinner in his sin, and talk bad of the few brothers/sisters that says "shaygaan waa xaraam ikhwaani, Allah ka cabsada"!

That surely was what the prophet(salallahu alayhi wasalam) camed with. Inaynu sidii markaa gaaladii Quriash u dhaqano maahoo, cay iyo aflagaado ka daba tuurno those individuals.

 

This is not about "Qofka iska daaya, allah baa u qabasanayee", as long as there is people oo u sacabinaya qof dambi ku taagan, ama dambi ku taageerayaa, dad dhinaca kale the Islamic view sheegaya lama waayayo.

 

Aakhiro waxaa la ina waydiin, dadkaynu garabtaagnaan jirnay markaynu aduunka joognay, the people we used to defend.

[burahadeer]

hahaaa Almiskin..u wana take ova every somali site.You guys come in droves & try to silence more dignified opinions unlike urs.If some want to drink alcohol;dat's between him & god,you don't have to come back time & again trying to beat people into submission.

You know where u belong...FUNDAMENTALISTS....majority of somali people & infact around muslim world reject ur dogmatic view of Islam.Go to more than 80% of somalia not under shabab...women dress the way they used to before u guys.YOU make islam look bad.GO TO SCHOOL & SEE THE WORLD THRU>NO ONE IS GOING BACK TO 13th century..SORRY sir