The Effect of Culture on Women’s Participation in Political Leadership in Mogadishu, Federal Republic of Somalia

The paper examined the effect of culture on the women’s right to political participation in Mogadishu, Federal Republic of Somalia. The paper was guided by the following objectives; to examine the effect of clan-based politics on women’s rights to political participation in Mogadishu, to examine the effect of early girl child marriage on women’s rights to political participation in Mogadishu, and to investigate the relationship between boy child preference and political representation in Mogadishu. The paper employed both descriptive research and correlational research designs, where both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. From a population of 140, the paper attracted a sample size of 103 respondents, from whom data was collected using both questionnaires and interview guide. The paper found out that traditional leaders in Mogadishu had a strong influence on the politics at all levels, who preferred men to women in politics; that the clan system hamstrung women’s participation in politics in Mogadishu. The paper also found out that early girl marriage was part of the culture of the Somali people and that the practice negatively affected women’s participating in politics in Mogadishu; Last but not least, the paper found out that most parents in Mogadishu had a preference for the boy child than the girl child and would be more eager to educate a boy compared to a girl. By inference, since most political offices demand certain levels of education, the chances of the girl child compared to the boy child, of holding a political office in Mogadishu was slimmer.