I have mentioned her once but one of my extended kin is a power Hawiye/Hiraab female powerhouse. She has even been the cabinet representative of her clan. She, a brother, and myself were once talking about the role of women and she interjected to say she was happy to see we were like our "uncles." We said "huh?" Only for her to make us notice the disproportionate amount of most "powerful Hawiye women" had in common being the spouses of men from our clan. Women like her, Zaynab Macalin, Asha Haji Elmi, Shukri Mohamud Afrax, etc. She said her own brothers came to her husband to pressure him to criticize her privately when she first started public involvement, but he told them ma "idinkaa qabo, mise anigaa qabo, hadaad idinku qabtiin, orad ceshada, hadaanse anigu qabo, gurigeyga ka dhex baxa." Then she said "maaha keliya reer Muduga. Koonfurtaas shishe Somali waxay bareen "bilcaan" oo bahdil ku ah dumar, Rer Gedone Soomali waxay bareen "Wiilo" oo gabdhahooda la sintay ragga."
Yacni, when the Marehan man gets a daughter instead of a son as his first born, he doesn't become disappointed and resent having been given a daughter, he honors her with the name "Wiilo" to say everything that a boy is, everything that a boy is capable of...so his daughter is, so his daughter is capable of.
Ilkayar wax badan oo dhaliil ah wey leeyihiin, but our clan has always been relatively more open minded and supportive of our women.
