[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1136, 313], "category": "Text", "text": "the interests of clans effectively. Customary law is applied on 'women issues', including rape, if and when cases are brought to attention - these issues are not openly discussed in traditional Somali society. Early marriage is common (some 45% of girls are married by age 18) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is almost universal, with an estimate of 98% of women and girls have undergone the harmful procedure. Somalia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates (MMR) in the world, with 692 per 100,000 live births, largely due to poor health care infrastructure and lack of access to adequate services."}, {"bbox": [96, 336, 1136, 471], "category": "Text", "text": "The overwhelming majority of teachers in Somalia is male, reflecting the cultural norm against women's leadership and lack of accommodation for female teachers' maternal and household duties. As a result, Somali women and girls in all demographic groups have lower literacy and education rates compared to males (an average of 26% of women in Somalia can read compared to 36% of men). The primary social role of a woman as a child bearer is reflected in the average of 6.4 births per woman, second-highest globally after Niger (WB, 2020)."}, {"bbox": [96, 494, 1136, 628], "category": "Text", "text": "While women and girls in Somalia are responsible for all, or most of, domestic burdens and raising children, traditional gendered division of labour is showing signs of change. Poverty, the impact of war and male migration have driven more and more urban and rural women to now also earn an income for their families. According to Somalia National Development Plan 2020-2024 (NDP-9), up to 70% of households today identify as economically \"female headed\"."}, {"bbox": [96, 653, 1136, 868], "category": "Text", "text": "Enterpreneurship is a driving force of the Somali economy – and except for large and/or formal businesses, women play a leading role in this area. According to some estimates, women comprise over 60% of small business owners in Somalia, and 70% operate in the informal sector. About half of the currently employed women are self-employed. At the same time, women are not socialised as independent economic decision makers. Patriarchal structures, both implicit and explicit, are a key constraint for women entrepreneurs in Somalia and hinders their ability to successfully manage their businesses. Lack of financial inclusion, limited access to finance and underrepresentation in business dialogues results in women tending to operate in constrained local markets, their businesses are often small and they are based in sub-optimal locations."}, {"bbox": [96, 945, 1136, 1106], "category": "Text", "text": "Somalia is a key partner of strategic interest for the EU, with the objectives of achieving lasting stability, security and socio-economic growth. This requires an integrated approach to address deeply rooted gender inequalities that hinder women's and girls' socio-economic inclusion. When women are economically secure, they invest in their families and communities, helping to reduce poverty and attain improved standards of living for all. Supporting women's social and economic empowerment would be fully aligned with the NDP-9, which targets inclusive economic growth."}, {"bbox": [188, 1146, 444, 1178], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [96, 1237, 1136, 1399], "category": "Text", "text": "While the Somali private sector is dominated by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women are the main drivers in the micro-sector across the country. Data on MSMEs and sub-sectors of economic activities in Somalia is scarce, yet it is widely believed that some 2/3 of women business owners are in the micro-enterprise sector. These women often have limited education, lack most basic business skills and enter into the business sector as a coping mechanism. They largely remain trapped in the micro-sector due to lack of access to credit, lack of business development services and restricted mobility."}, {"bbox": [96, 1423, 1136, 1637], "category": "Text", "text": "In rural areas, the numbers of women working in agriculture is high. However, women's participation in decision-making remains low because community (clan-based) committees and village elders' committees mainly comprise of men. There is a division of labour in the agriculture and livestock sectors: women are generally responsible for small livestock and milking, as well as time-consuming and labour-intensive crop production tasks such as sowing and weeding. Formal ownership of all livestock rests with the male head of household and land, while legally may be inherited or acquired by women, is largely male-owned under customary law. In the fisheries sector, women are engaged in cleaning, chopping and selling fish at local markets. Most fishermen's associations are led by men, their membership is male dominated and fisheries exports are managed by men. Across these sectors, very few"}]