Eritrea's Suffering Female National Service Conscripts

Ethiopia Insight published on 15 January 2020 an article titled "No Peace for Eritrea's Long-suffering Female Conscripts" by Hiba Said, Ethiopia Insight editor.

Eritrea has a National Service that requires men and women to join. It is believed to be the single most important reason why Eritrea ranks ninth in the world as a country of origin for refugees. An estimated 12 percent of Eritrea's population has fled the country. According to the author, the National Service has become especially abusive for Eritrean women.

Role of Women in Sudan's Revolution

African Arguments posted on 2 July 2019 a report titled "'I'm against All of the Laws of This Regime': What Sudan's Women Want" by Samie al-Negar, an independent Sudanese researcher, and Liv Tonnessen, Chr. Michelsen Institute.

Women have been at the forefront of the ongoing protests in Sudan. Some are demanding gender equality but others just want a better life and an end to sexual abuse.

Life after Al-Shabaab

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 5 December 2017 its third account of a female returnee from al-Shabaab titled "Life after Al-Shabaab: A Returnee Puts the Pieces Together" by Cassidy Parker.

This woman, who managed to return to her home in Kenya and remarry after failing to find her first husband in Somalia, describes the forced use of narcotics and routine sexual abuse by al-Shabaab fighters.

Another Somali-Kenyan Woman Kidnapped by Al-Shabaab Speaks Out

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 28 November 2017 a second interview with a woman kidnapped by al-Shabaab titled "Commanding Attention: A Female Al-Shabaab Ex-commander Speaks Out" by Cassidy Parker.

The woman, who escaped from an al-Shabaab camp in Somalia and returned to Kenya, was reluctant to describe her experience for fear of retribution by al-Shabaab or Kenyan security services. While not personally sexually abused because of her leadership position, she describes routine abuse of other women.

Nine Years of Sexual Abuse in an Al-Shabaab Camp

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 21 November 2017 an article titled "Nine Years in an Al-Shabaab Camp: One Woman's Story" by Cassidy Parker, ISS consultant.

This is a personal account of a woman from Mombasa, Kenya, who followed her husband to an al-Shabaab camp in Somalia and spent most of her nine years as a sex slave for al-Shabaab fighters before contracting HIV/AIDS and escaping back to Mombasa.

Human Rights Watch on AMISOM Abuses

Human Rights Watch published in September 2014 a 71-page report titled "The Power These Men Have Over Us: Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by African Union Forces in Somalia."  Drawing on interviews with 21 women and girls, the report documents sexual exploitation and abuse of Somalis at two AMISOM bases in Mogadishu, where Ugandan and Burundian soldiers are present.  The report acknowledges that AMISOM has taken some measures to address sexual and gender-based violence.