The practice is said to be fading but there are places where the ritual beating of women is the norm and ubiquitous during or prior to the wedding night. In Garisa Kenya, I had the chance of listening to the stories of old women who went through this ordeal and had visible marks around their hands. The meaning this special ocassion symbolizes, as related to me, is that it forms a line of hiararchy and duty between the newly weds. To the woman, it symbolizes the feminine qualities most desired and cherished by men such as dependence, obedience, resilience and patience while under a difficult situation. This, they claim, leads to a strong bond and a lasting commitment.
There was a women, who told me that she held a deep conviction that men who are not inclined to beating their women or whose presence is not felt as "insufficient or is not a strong man. I probably felt this firm position of her translates more of how she had been conditioned rather than choosing a husband according to her own personal preferences.
Haddii naagi tiirkay fadhidey loogu tegi waayo
Inkastoo tib weyn lala dhacoo tumaha loo qaado
Waa tacallin ay baratay oo looma taag helo e - an old poem by Xasan Xayle
I have allways known that some somalis beat their wife`s but I never knew that it was a common practice 
