SWLI advocates for a legal framework to enhance women safety and inclusion in all aspects of life. SWLI is engaged in reconciliation, mediation, conflict resolution and conflict prevention in the women and their communities. SWLI also campaigns against women violence and extremism and conducts workshops on sensitization of women and youth involvement in violence and conflict in their respective clans and communities.

SWLI has also engaged political parties and stakeholders and advocating for social justice, fair rules and affirmative measures that can lead to the achievement of Gender and Development goals in Somalia. With the support of its international partners, SWLI has secured numerous training, capacity building and mentoring sessions in leadership, advocacy, communications and organizational development for its members, focusing on the Youth and women from regions and rural areas.

SWLI’s commitment, experience and competences have been recognized and has led to its appointment, since 2015, as Good will Ambassador for Women, a high profile lobby group for women’s greater representation.

Lobbying and advocacy moves with the Elders in the five Federal Member States and Benadir region has enabled women to position themselves not only as members of electoral colleges and as candidates for the legislative elections, but also to hold meetings with the various electoral colleges in order to campaign. As a result, 6 women including 4 young university graduates became MPs during the 2016 parliamentary election, as of today 2021 one of these MPs became Minister.

These initiatives lay on the strong belief that while evidence-based advocacy for the creation of a politically encouraging environment for women’s greater political participation and representation is key, capacity building, training and mentoring are also key to empower and enable women to successfully take and perform the positions and responsibilities they are targeting. Due to the fact that progress is slow and in some cases the small gains are being eroded, SWLI is of the view that strategies to accelerate change has to target electoral systems and laws, political parties’ constitutions and intra-party democracy processes for necessary reforms and improvements. The fact that political parties are the real gatekeepers to the advancement of women in politics indicates that it is at political party level that the principle of equality must be put into practice.