- Zakia Hussein Ahmed was the first woman appointed Brigadier General and Deputy Police Commissioner of the Somali Police Force.
- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) ranks her as one of the best players in the security sector with her skills to negotiate in conflicts.
- Gen Zakia recently featured in Netflix’s ‘World’s Most Wanted Documentaries’, in the episode on Samantha Lewthwaite (White Widow).
- She believes in gender equality, and Somalia is slowly gaining traction with women serving in high positions of leadership such as deputy prime minister.
- Somalia ranks the 4th country in Africa with a high number of females serving in the security sector, in line with the UNSC Resolution 1325.
When she was promoted to Brigadier General and appointed Deputy Police Commissioner of the Somali Police Force in 2018, Zakia Hussein Ahmed was elated although she knew the task ahead was tough. She became the first female to achieve this milestone.
Two years later, Gen Zakia, 36, says she has lost count of the number of threats and attempts on her life by organised criminal gangs such as the al Shabaab. She even survived a car bomb assassination attempt.
Al Shabaab perceive her as the personification against anything they stand for – young, diaspora, female and a high-ranking leader within the security sector
Brigadier General Zakia Hussen Ahmed with Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo (left).
She also believes that having served as the main media and public relations officer for the armed forces, which has helped security forces with increased information and intelligence sharing from the public leading to the dismantling of terrorists and other criminal networks, put her in the gang’s radar.
But Gen Zakia says she is determined to create change, and that all great achievements require greater sacrifices.
“You live once; make it count!” she says, admitting that the threats have proven to be the most difficult in her work. “Currently, due to the high threats, my family has opted to stay in the UK where I previously lived.”
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) ranks her as one of the best players in the security sector with her skills to negotiate in conflicts. But this has not been easy because Somalia, and Africa by extension, suppresses or ignores women who are capable of rising to certain positions.
“When you are a woman, you must work 10 times harder than your male colleagues particularly when working in highly patriarchal institutions,” she says.
When she was appointed on August 15, 2018, Gen Zakia had to design her own uniform as she insisted on wearing trousers with long sleeved shirts that extend right down to the knees, since she was going to lead the police force in a country where women’s dressing is dictated by strict religious rules.
Gen Zakia once served as the Secretary General of the Hanoolaato Political Party in Somalia.
“At first it was frowned upon. However today, I am pleased that the same design has been adopted by female officers within the police and other security institutions,” she says, adding that 12 per cent of the Somali Police Force are women. This amounts to whom are officers.
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