Strengths in Somali families

Hawa Ibrahim A. Koshen, Zayed University

Document Type

Book Chapter

Source of Publication

Strong Families Around the World: Strengths-Based Research and Perspectives

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Abstract

© 2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Somalis populate an area on the Horn of Africa which includes the country of Somalia and parts of Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia. They share the same language, religion and culture. The majority of Somalis are pastoralists, although urbanization is a growing modern phenomenon. They belong to stratified clan or tribal structures and follow time-honored traditions based on Islamic practices and customary law, called xeer. The civil war, which began in 1988, pitted the state against certain clans and then degenerated into inter-clan fighting, followed by intra-clan fighting. Throughout the conflict the population was subjected to atrocities: Slaughter and rape was widespread, property and livestock were pillaged, infrastructure was ruined. The turmoil sent shock waves through the society, causing tremendous changes which stretched traditional coping strategies to the limit.

ISBN

9781317960218

Publisher

Taylor and Francis

First Page

71

Last Page

99

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Family challenges, Family stability, Family strengths, Peace, Social progress, Somali families

Scopus ID

85076660223

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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