This Young Woman Founded Somaliland's First All-Girls Basketball Team, Smashing The Taboo
In Somaliland, women's roles are limited and society often sees women’s participation in sports as taboo.
In a nation striving for global recognition, Somaliland's first all-girls basketball team, Hargeisa Basketball Girls, is making history on the court by breaking social norms regarding women and girls’ participation in sports.
21-year-old Hafsa Omer and her sisters founded the team in 2018, aiming to promote gender equality and empower young women in their region.
In Somaliland, women's roles are limited and society often sees women’s participation in sports as taboo.
Only men used to train on the basketball court, but Omer started going every day by herself and other girls soon followed.
Currently, almost 30 girls are playing in the Hargesia Basketball Girls team, and other girls' teams were created following their footsteps.
Despite gaps in resources, the Hargeisa girls are committed to inspiring women in a society where women athletics has traditionally been discouraged for cultural and religious reasons.
Not only this, the team also aims to bring recognition to their country, Somaliland, a de facto African state that declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains internationally unrecognized.
Leveraging social media platforms, the team shares videos of their matches and features the tricolor Somaliland flag to promote national pride.
"We believe that we could be part of bringing the recognition... by wearing the flags, by talking about our country, by promoting it through the short video TikToks or Instagram pictures," the 21-year-old captain said.
Over the past six years, the Hargeisa Basketball Girls has inspired many more young women to take up the sport, leading to the formation of an all-girls basketball league and marking significant progress toward gender equality in Somaliland.
"We just want the world to see us," Omer said.
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