SOMALIA: Women call for peace
NAIROBI, 10 JUNE 2003 (IRIN) - Sixty women peace activists in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have appealed for the restoration of peace and stability in the city.

Their call was made during a women's forum held in Mogadishu, organised by the Centre for Research and Dialogue (CRD), an affiliate of the War-Torn Societies Project International, according to Maryam Mahmud Haji, a CRD gender officer.

Maryam told IRIN on Tuesday that women could make a difference, and that the leaders would have to listen to them. Women's "support is very crucial to any leader who has future political aspirations," she said.

The women, from a cross-section of the Banadir Region (Mogadishu and environs), were peace activists who had been trying to persuade the various Mogadishu factions to agree on a common administration for the region, Sharifo Adow, a member of the group, told IRIN. She said the forum provided women with an opportunity to share their ideas and "put together a plan of action". MORE