Yesterday I had a meeting with an amazing lady, Ms.
Hanan Ibrahim, a Somali activist, a single mother of three, who was awarded an MBE by the Queen for the work she has done in supporting Somali families, especially women, empowering them and making them aware of issues and human rights issues. She left Somalia back in 1988 due to the violence, but came back last year, leaving her grown children in the UK. Hanan has set up grassroots organisations and networks, with a focus on providing support to mothers of children who lost their lives as suicide bombers. Last week there were two such children - a 16-year old girl and a 17-year old boy. Both of them came from caring muslim families, but somehow were "got-at" by extremists who brainwashed them into believing this is what Allah wanted them to do - that he had created them for this purpose. It is just so disgusting and Hanan insisted on showing us photographs of these poor children after the attacks had taken place, sorry to be graphic, but there were just body parts strewn over the ground with the heads decapitated. What a hideous, desperate and totally despicable thing to do - to brainwash innocent children into killing themselves and others.
Hanan told me that she receives daily threats against her life by Al-Shabaab, but feels that improving the awareness of Somali women on many issues is her calling. She wears a direh (which is a voluminous flowing dress) and her head is covered by a long scarf wrapped in a quite beautiful manner. However, most importantly, in strict contravention of Al-Shabaab laws, she wears heavy make-up, her nails are beautifully manicured, her ears are weighed down by stylish earrings, she sports large designer sunglasses, and she wears a bra! (she told me the last part, I didn't see it!). She really is an inspiration.
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