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Amina Mohamed Abdi

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Amina Mohamed Abdi
Member of Federal Parliament of Somalia
In office
1 January 2012 – 23 March 2022
Preceded byAbdulaahi
Personal details
Born(1981-10-21)21 October 1981
Mogadishu, Banaadir Somalia, Somalia
Died23 March 2022(2022-03-23) (aged 40)
Beledweyne, Somalia
Political partyUnion for Peace and Development Party

Amina Mohamed Abdi (Somali: Aamina Maxamed Cabdi; 21 October 1981 – 23 March 2022) was a Somali politician, she was an MP in the Federal Parliament of Somalia from 2012 till her death, as a member of the opposition Union for Peace and Development Party.[1]

Life

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Amina Mohamed Abdi was from the Hawiye, gaaljecel clan. She attended school in Mogadishu, and remembered, aged eight, returning from school to find her house empty and her family gone as the Somali Civil War fighting broke out in 1992. She later lived with her uncle, himself a member of the Somali parliament.[2]

In 2012, aged 24, Abdi stood for parliament. She defied clan elders to do so, facing down objections that in doing so she was behaving like a prostitute. Defeating two other candidates, she won a seat reserved for women.[2]

In the 2016 Somali parliamentary election, Abdi won an open parliamentary seat in Hiran, Somalia.[2]

Abdi was preparing to be a candidate in the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 2021,[3] defending her seat against five men.[2] However, the elections were postponed amidst disagreement over the voting process.[4]

She was an advocate for an investigation into the disappearance of Ikran Tahlil Farah.[5]

Assassination

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Main article: March 2022 Somalia attacks

On 23 March 2022, an al-Shabaab suicide bomber targeted a vehicle carrying Amina and her bodyguards in Beledweyne, as she was campaigning for re-election.[5] When the casualties were taken to hospital, a suicide car bomb exploded. Amina was killed during the attack. She was just 40 years old. The attacks also killed 47 more people and injured 105.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Armen Kassabian (23 January 2021). "Young Female Somali Lawmaker Fights Corruption". VOA Learning English.
  2. ^ a b c d Omar Mohammed (18 January 2021). "Young, female and fighting corruption, a Somali lawmaker defends her seat". Reuters. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Somalia Elections: Eye on Amina Mohamed Abdi who is battling for a third term in government". KTN News Kenya. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  4. ^ Hamza Mohamed (10 February 2021). "What is delaying Somalia's elections?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Female opposition MP among dozens killed in Somalia bombings". the Guardian. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Death toll from twin Somalia bombings rises to 48: regional leader". Reuters. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
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