Edna Adan: A Goddess Walks Among Us

Saving the World's Women is the title of a special issue of the New York Times, August 2!,
authored "# Nicholas $ristof and %herl# Wu&unn, a noted hus"and and wife team who won the
'ulit(er 'ri(e for international reporting in )!!* This co+eted pri(e was gi+en in recognition of their
reporting on the Tianamen %,uare protests of )!-! in .ei/ing* That period of their li+es de+eloped in
an une0pected wa#, dramaticall# changing the focus of their work as the# e0plain in the same New
York Times article*
1Traditionall# the status of women was seen as a soft issue2worth# "ut marginal* We initiall#
reflected that +iew oursel+es in our work as /ournalists* We preferred to focus instead on the 1serious3
international issues, like trade disputes or arms proliferation* 4ur awakening came in 5hina*
After we married in )!-- we mo+ed to .ei/ing to "e correspondents for the New York Times* %e+en
months later we found oursel+es standing on the edge of Tianamen %,uare watching troops fire their
automatic weapons at pro6democrac# protesters* The massacre claimed "etween 7 and - li+es and
transfi0ed the world8 wrenching images of the killings appeared constantl# on the front page and on
tele+ision screens*
Yet the following #ear we came across an o"scure "ut meticulous demographic stud# that outlined a
human rights +iolation that had claimed tens of thousands more li+es* This stud# found that 9!,
"a"# girls died annuall# in 5hina "ecause parents didn:t gi+e them the same medical care and attention
that "o#s recei+ed2and that was /ust the first #ear of life* A result is that as man# infant girls died
unnecessaril# e+er# week in 5hina as protesters died at Tiananmen %,uare* Those 5hinese girls ne+er
recei+ed a column inch of news co+erage, and we "egan to wonder if our /ournalistic priorities were
skewed*3
These new priorities were re+ealed full# in a "ook some ha+e called the most important the# ha+e e+er
read: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, pu"lished "# $nopf,
New York, 2!* ;n this remarka"le "ook that "# turns "reaks the heart then inspires, a chapter is
de+oted to the telling of the stor# of Edna Adan and her work to help the women of %omaliland*
Somalia and Somaliland
%omaliland is located on the horn of Africa and has "een going its own wa# as much as possi"le from
%omalia for close to two decades* As is true of much of Africa, the countr# <officiall# unrecogni(ed "#
the international communit# as independent from %omalia= has as a general "ackdrop a comple0 histor#
of tri"alism, colonialism, socialism and post colonialism>socialism* ;t has howe+er its own regional
go+ernment and is to some e0tent left to itself "# %omalia* ;t sees itself as the inheritor of .ritish
%omalia which was independent for a few da#s in )!?* The %omaliland re+olution, a reaction to the
repressi+e dictatorship of %iad .arre and the general insta"ilit# that led to the collapse of the central
go+ernment allowed the territor# to assert its independence in @a# of )!!)* The need for separation is
o"+ious when +iewing a few facts a"out %omalia* ;t was named 1most failed state3 "# Aoreign 'olic#
@aga(ine in 2! "eating out such hellish places as %udan and Bim"a"we* An attempt in the same
#ear to hold together a fragile coalition go+ernment failed with the southern half of the countr# falling
into the hands of ;slamic re"els who esta"lished %haria law* 4n the )9
th
of @a# 2!, the president of
%omalia appro+ed the implementation of %haria law for all of %omalia* @an# people made their wa#
north and west to %omaliland, fleeing the chaos*
Aor more information a"out the histor# of %omaliland and its standing in the world, Edna AdanCs
speech "efore the ;nternational 'lanned 'arenthood Aederation on %ept* 2-, 2)*
Sharia
All @uslims "elie+e %haria is God:s law, "ut the# differ as to what e0actl# it entails*D)E @odernists,
traditionalists and fundamentalists all hold different +iews of %haria, as do adherents to different
schools of ;slamic thought and scholarship* &ifferent countries and cultures ha+e +ar#ing
interpretations of %haria as well*
http:>>en*wikipedia*org>wiki>%haria
The threat to women under s#stems of radical ;slamic thought are man# and %omalia represents an area
that some of the most repressi+e interpretations of %haria are found*
The notorious treatment of women "# the Tali"an can "e found and e0plored more at this link:
http:>>en*wikipedia*org>wiki>Tali"anFtreatmentFofFwomen* This illustrates /ust how "rutal and un/ust
this sort of interpretation of %haria can "e*
;n %omalia where Edna grew up, female genital mutilation was routine and Edna recounts, 1 At age of
eight, while m# father was out of town***; was caught, held down and it was done*3 ;t is worth noting
that Edna grew up the daughter of a doctor, at the highest le+el of %omalia societ# "ut at the time of her
#outh <she was "orn in )!9G= womanCs status was almost non6e0istent, so e+en within a state that was
at that time a .ritish protectorate and the fact of her famil#:s high status pro+ided no protection for
Edna against this "ar"arit#*
4ther practices detailed in %haria and worth pa#ing an0ious attention to are (ina66se0ual relations
outside of marriage, punisha"le "# "eatings, imprisonment and stoning to death8 forced marriage8
honor killing and ird2the +iew of a woman:s se0ual purit# that in+ol+es man# restrictions of
mo+ement, dress and association*
Edna's History
Edna Adan grew up in %omalia and as a /ournalist noted in an inter+iew with Edna she e0celled at
"eing her countr#:s :first*: Histen here for more details:
http:>>www*""c*co*uk>radio7>womanshour>9F?F2>wednesda#>info2*shtml
.ut "riefl# she was the first female to win a scholarship to stud# in .ritain2she was not e+en allowed
to sit in the same e0am room as the "o#s2first to ,ualif# as a nurse6midwife from her land, first and
onl# person to dream, plan and e+entuall# make real a hospital in which women could stud#, train and
help other women*
As this "iograph# sa#s of her: http:>>en*wikipedia*org>wiki>EdnaFAdanF;smail
1Edna Adan was "orn the daughter of a prominent %omali medical doctor and was trained as a nurse in
the United $ingdom* %he later married @uhammad Ia/i ;"rahim Egal, a %omali politician who was
elected 'rime @inister of %omalia in )!?G* %he started "uilding a hospital in @ogadishu in the mid
)!-s, "ut was forced to a"andon it and lea+e the countr#* %he was the World Iealth 4rgani(ation
Jegional Nursing Ad+iser during )!-?* Arom )!-)6)!-G she was Jegional Technical 4fficer for
@other and 5hild Iealth with responsi"ilit# for issues relating to harmful traditional practices which
affect the health of women and children <such as AG@= and for training midwi+es and Traditional .irth
Attendants in the 22 countries of the Eastern @editerranean Jegion of WI4*3
;t is clear that Edna:s +ision has "een for health and safet#, for women in particular* This dream was
not accomplished without set "acks* &uring the time when she first attempted the "uilding of a
hospital that had to e+entuall# a"andoned due to the ci+il war, Edna was arrested and /ailed*
Edna:s hospital destro#ed "# war*
This e0perience was addressed in an interesting discussion a"out human dignit# that can "e accessed
on www*humilationstudies*org
1; think humiliation is a +er# difficult thing to descri"e* .ut ; think humiliation is when someone tries
to "ring someone down to their le+el* The# think that #ou are a"o+e them and the# want to hurt #ou,
humiliate #ou, "ring #ou down down so that #ou ha+e no more self6respect, so that #ou loose the
respect #ou ha+e for #ourself and others loose the respect the# ha+e for #ou* 4nce the# said ; was
planning to escape from the countr# and ; spent si0 da#s in /ail for that* The# put me in a cell of m#
own "ut ; didn:t ha+e a toilet and it had no doors* The cell ne0t to me was full of men***and ; needed to
use the "athroom*3
Edna goes on to descri"e how the police insisted that she use the "athroom with no door on it in front
of all the men* Edna was a"le, "# appealing to the men and their sense of how the# would feel a"out
their own mothers and sisters "eing forced to perform this pri+ate function in front of others, to "ack
them down* The# e+entuall# turned their "acks to gi+e her pri+ac#*
At the time of her retirement from the WI4 Edna had a sa+ings of K9, and a @ercedes* Watch
this +ideo for a deeper look at this ama(ing woman:
Video: How Many Mothers for a Mercedes?
By NAKA NATHAN!"
There are se+eral wonderful people featured in the +ideo that accompanies NickCs %unda# column* ;Cm
confident that one person will stand out, Edna Adan*
The stor# goes that after a distinguished career with the World Iealth 4rgani(ation, Edna Adan
returned home to %omaliland where she started the countr#Cs first maternal hospital* .esides using her
pension, she sold her @ercedes to get the hospital started* %heCs "een sa+ing the li+es of mothers and
children e+er since*
The Hosital and Edna's Wor!
Airst .a"# .orn in the Iospital
Airst graduating class of mid6wi+es 27
The uni+ersit# hospital is now a reali(ed dream* @an# women and their children are "eing ser+ed, "ut
of course there is much to do and man# people of %omaliland to train in order to help educate and
ser+e*
Hosital "rofile www*ednahospital*org
The Edna Adan Uni+ersit# Iospital is situated in Iargeisa, Jepu"lic of %omaliland*
The hospital is a non6profit charit# that was "uilt "# Edna Adan ;smail who donated her UN pension
and other personal assets to "uild the hospital in order to address the gra+e health pro"lems that
endanger the li+es of women and children in the Iorn of Africa* The 'ro/ect has the appro+al of the
Go+ernment of %omaliland, and the Hocal Go+ernment of Iargeisa has donated the Hand that measures
!,? %,uare meters* The hospital is on the main road near the .ank of %omaliland at &um"ulu,, and
is located in a less affluent area that contains a third of the population of the cit# in a part of the town
that has ne+er had a hospital in the past* The site is centrall# and con+enientl# located, is well ser+ed "#
pu"lic transport making it easil# accessi"le for emergenc# referral*
The Iospital is supplied "# the cit# piped water suppl# and to the cit# electricit# power* The hospital
also has its own electricit# "ack6up generator*
The Iospital started with 2L maternit# "eds* Iowe+er, as the need for hospital "eds "ecame pressing,
and as personnel "ecame trained, the hospital ser+ices e0panded to accommodate an additional -
pediatric and )9 medical and surgical "eds, and a 'ri+ate Joom* The present total capacit# of the
hospital, including new"orn "a"ies, is ?! patients* While the hospital "ecame full# operational on
@arch 22, the training of Nurses and Ha"orator# Technicians was in progress while the hospital
"uilding was under construction*
The construction of the hospital was started on the )st of Manuar# )!!-, and as it progressed, pri+ate
indi+iduals, "usiness people in %omaliland and elsewhere, as well as international organi(ations, also
made +alua"le contri"utions ena"ling the hospital to "ecome functional on the !th of @arch, 22*Ier
current goals are stated in her #ear end <2)= newsletter "elow*
My #m$ition: to Train %&&& Midwives
1The training of the 5ommunit# @idwi+es from the different regions of %omaliland continues with 72
women due to graduate in @arch, 2))* The# are the "est moti+ated group of women we ha+e and ; am
confident the# will ha+e a strong impact on the high maternal mortalit# rate of our women* @#
am"ition is to train ) communit# midwi+es to co+er the needs of our people* E+en if ; donCt make it
in m# lifetime, ; hope some of m# former graduates will accomplish that goal*3
;f a 'oddess Wal!s #mong (s
As ; am sure she does in the em"odied form of Edna Adan, ; would like to call to all to think a"out
supporting her work in some wa#* @one# is essential of course, "ut man# of us ha+e our own struggles
with this, so perhaps we could hold her and her work in our pra#ers, spread the word a"out her face
"ook page, her we" site and the needs of the women of the area* Also, read Half The Sky "# $ristof
and Wu&unn, a "ook whose practical suggestions for helping the world:s women are plent# and
inspiring*
http:>>www*ednahospital*org>edna6hospital
http:>>www*face"ook*com>NO>edna*hospital
%u"mitted as Ainal 'ro/ect for He+el ))) Huna .lanca %tudies with %isters ;n 5ele"ration*
%ondra Tudor
JedMade.ird