Somalia holds first EALA public hearing on regional anti-FGM bill

Thursday September 3, 2026

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali government officials, regional lawmakers, religious leaders and civil society representatives have discussed proposed East African Community legislation that would establish a regional framework to combat female genital mutilation (FGM).

The two-day public hearing in Mogadishu on the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Bill, 2025, marked Somalia’s first in-country public consultation with EALA members since joining the eight-member regional bloc.

The consultation carries particular significance in Somalia, where an estimated 99% of women and girls have undergone FGM, according to the 2020 Somali Demographic and Health Survey cited by Equality Now. Somalia also does not have a national law specifically prohibiting the practice.

“Somalia fully integrated within the East African Community at the end of 2025. Therefore, this is the first in-country public engagement between the members of the East African Legislative Assembly and the Somali government and citizens,” said Caroline Lagat, legal adviser for End Harmful Practices at Equality Now.

“Secondly, FGM prevalence in Somalia is 99% according to the 2020 Somali Demographic and Health Survey, yet the country does not have a law prohibiting this harmful practice,” she said. “Therefore, FGM being the subject of the EAC Elimination of FGM Bill, 2025, it was important for EALA to get the opinions and recommendations of the Somali government and citizens on the provisions of the law and cultivate a positive acceptance towards it.”

Equality Now organized the hybrid hearing, held Sept. 2-3, bringing together representatives of federal government institutions, Somali and EALA lawmakers, the Ministry of Family and Human Rights Development, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, civil society groups and other stakeholders.

Participants reviewed the bill clause by clause and discussed stronger protection mechanisms, cross-border cooperation and coordinated regional action against FGM.

EALA member Falhada Dekow Iman, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the legislation should not be portrayed as an attack on communities or their traditions.

“FGM is an issue that requires honest and courageous conversation. We must ask ourselves: Can a tradition be more important than the safety, health and future of our daughters?” she said.

Iman said the legislation was intended to create a coordinated regional response rather than target particular communities.

“This Bill is not about targeting communities where FGM is practised. It is about creating a united regional response to protect girls, strengthen prevention, support survivors, promote awareness, and ensure that no girl is taken across a border simply to undergo a practice prohibited in her own country,” she said.

She said differing laws and enforcement standards across national borders could allow the practice to continue even where individual countries have imposed restrictions.

“We must remember that FGM is not confined by borders. Where one country acts alone, perpetrators may exploit weaknesses across borders,” Iman said. “That is why we need a strong regional framework under the East African Community. Our girls deserve equal protection, whether they are in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the DRC or Somalia.”

The draft legislation seeks to harmonize anti-FGM laws and enforcement across all eight EAC partner states. Among its provisions are measures criminalizing cross-border FGM and prohibiting medical practitioners and health facilities from carrying out the procedure.

It would also allow courts to issue protection orders for girls considered at risk before FGM takes place. Other provisions call for integrating awareness about FGM into school curricula and requiring health facilities to provide standardized care for women and girls who have undergone the procedure.

Somali lawmaker Luul Ibrahim Omar Hassan Dafedow said the consultation came at an important time because of Somalia’s recent entry into the EAC.

She said the bill remained at an early stage of the regional legislative process and noted that consultations had already been conducted in other EAC countries before reaching Somalia.

Dafedow also said Somalia’s federal parliament was expected to begin discussions on legislation addressing FGM.

Lagat said public hearings are a mandatory part of the EALA legislative process following a bill’s first reading.

Hearings were held in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in November and December 2025, making Somalia the final EAC partner state to hold consultations.

“Somalia was the only country left and so its public hearings have taken place on 2nd and 3rd September 2026,” Lagat said.

The EALA General Purposes Committee is expected to consolidate reports and recommendations from consultations across the eight partner states and submit its report to the assembly before the bill proceeds to a second reading and subsequent stages of the legislative process.

Somalia’s Department of Social Integration and East African Community Affairs, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said the government remained committed to regional cooperation and efforts to build an EAC in which the rights and dignity of women and girls are protected.

The department also thanked government institutions, lawmakers, civil society organizations, experts and other participants for contributing recommendations during the Mogadishu consultations.