"In the sprawling market of Somaliland’s capital city, Hargeisa, women clad in headscarves or abaya shawls from head to foot engage in volatile haggling with shoppers, and woe betide any man that crosses them – the volume becomes deafening. Somaliland’s religious conservativism – sharia law is included in its constitution – co-exists with many signs of a typically liberal free market society, a dynamic embodied by Somaliland women’s active role in the local economy.
“I really wish the rest of the world would pass over what women are wearing and focus on what women are contributing to the community and country,” says 29-year-old Zainab, relaxing in a Hargeisa café in the evening after her day job as a dentist. Somaliland’s women are part of a strong entrepreneurial tradition in the country, a result of its declaration of independence from Somalia in 1991 not being recognised by the international community.
