What it’s Like To…Be a Journalist in Somalia’s Only All-Women Newsroom
"What it's Like to..." is a new series sharing first-hand accounts of life in Africa.
For much of its history, Somalia has been ruled by patriarchal forces, leaving women underserved and underrepresented. According to the UNDP Gender Inequality Index, the East African nation ranks fourth to last in gender equity and equality. Most, if not all, media is run by and for Somali men with little coverage on matters affecting or interesting their female counterparts.
For Hinda Abdi Mohamoud, deputy chief editor of Bilan Media, Somalia’s only all-women newsroom, overcoming misogyny has been part of her career as a writer and journalist.
Bilan Media’s six-woman-strong team is made up of media whizzes from all walks of life – including a Kenyan refugee camp. The publication launched in 2022 with funding from the UN, and offers a different perspective to that of traditional and local Somali media, which tend to focus on politics, conflict, and other male-dominated subjects. Additionally, the women belong to the communities they write about, making them intimately familiar with what’s going on.
But being a journalist in Somalia is hard as it is, and according to Reporters Without Borders, the East African country is one of the most dangerous to pursue a career in journalism. The landscape for women is that much more perilous because of harassment and a lack of opportunities.
Twenty-eight-year-old Mohamoud has been passionate about writing for much of her life. At the age of 20, she self-published her first book Raad Somali, which looks at the origin of the people of Somalia, and is currently working on her second.
Here, in excerpts edited for length and clarity, she tells OkayAfrica about how she spends her days as a journalist.
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Hinda Abdi Mohamoud: I grew up in Hargeisa, Somaliland and have been living in Mogadishu, Somalia for three years. This year's my fourth.
I was about 20 years old when I first started working in journalism. It was my passion, and I loved writing and listening to the radio. It started there, and then it was nurtured in a local college when I got my diploma in journalism. I also worked in local media back home in Hargeisa for two or three years and then obtained my degree in international relations from New Generation University over there.
I love working as a journalist because you are somewhat of a teacher and also someone who is sharing information and updates to the community. We’re also learning about them and their perspective, while also, usually, sharing their perspective and the kind of stories that they care about. I also love being role models for young girls from all over Somalia, and Africa. It's not easy to be in journalism and work in the media in Somalia – for anyone – but we are trying to do our best and trying to change what kind of work that we can do for the local media.
We’re in a place where it’s a male-dominated industry and joining a team of all women makes me feel so happy and proud to be a journalist – the kind of work that we’re doing is amazing. We’re also trying to change the landscape of local media. But, Bilan started way before me. I’ve been with the team for one and a half years now. I joined them in November 2022; it was a good opportunity for me to join this amazing team, and to get the chance to have a seat at the decision-making table – especially in media. We all work together in our newsroom and support each other when we’re reporting in the field, it’s really great.
Though, I don’t like the fact that when you say “I’m a journalist” or that you work in the media, people start to think they know what kind of person you are or the idea that some people or genders can be in the media, and others can’t. It’s something that we need to change. It’s a challenge to get people to see the kind of work women are capable of doing.
And, also, that women can lead and work together because there are a lot of rumors that women don’t get along. When, actually, we always support each other. So, trying to change those rumors and proving them wrong, that's something we’re doing.
We’re even recruiting women journalists from all different regions of Somalia where they get forgotten about. We hope to open up the rest of the country and tell stories about parts of the country and people who no one’s ever heard about. We want to move away from the capital and expand our reach.