We have kicked off the three day Benadir Youth Forum 2022 where we address Youth In Elections with FBA Folke, Elman Peace HRC, Today, we are focusing specifically on women’s electoral participation.
On day three of Benadir Youth Forum 2022 youth engaged in intergenerational dialogues, asked questions & raised challenges with United Nations Somalia United Nation Women in Somalia, SONSA_NSA Deputy Mayor of Mogadishu & District Com. of Wadajir. Youth have the right & ability to contribute to peace & security.
The last day of the forum, we concluded the Benadir Youth Forum 2022. Together, we discussed the meaning of electoral participation, the importance of Youth In Elections, challenges & opportunities for youth to meaningfully participate in electoral processes.
In Somalia, levels of youth participation in national representative structures are low to non-existing,
and little has been done to specifically target young men and women and build their confidence in
formal democratic electoral systems.
Instead, youth are left to exercise power outside of formal
electoral processes in situations of political, social, and economic exclusion and difficulty. Their exclusion from these processes depends on many different factors. For example, the political and
electoral processes in Somalia is dominated by male elders who tend to marginalize young people 
(particularly young women). Within this system, changes for young people to participate remains low,
and even those that are participating have their loyalty to the clan interests, which limit young people
potential to address national youth concerns and influence policy debates.
Furthermore, opportunities
for youth to participate in political processes depend largely on the political context. A democratic
environment is more favorable to participation in general, and it is not possible for youth to participate
in formal electoral processes if there is no direct election or if there are age-discriminatory laws preventing them from participatin
