Fartuun Adan

Fartuun Adan
فرتون آدن
Adan in 2015
Born
Somalia
OccupationActivist
TitleExecutive Director of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre
SpouseElman Ali Ahmed
Children4: Almas, Ilwad and Iman

Fartuun Abdisalaan Adan (Somali: Fartuun Aadan, Arabic: فرتون آدن) is a Somali social activist. She is the executive director of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre.

Personal life

Adan grew up in Somalia. She was married to Elman Ali Ahmed, a local entrepreneur and peace activist.[1][2] The couple had four daughters.[2]

In 1996, during the height of the civil war, Adan's husband was killed near the family's home in southern Mogadishu.[2] Adan subsequently emigrated to Canada in 1999.[1]

In 2007, she returned to Somalia to advocate for peace and human rights.[1]

On November 20, 2019, local authorities confirmed her daughter Almaas Elman, who had also returned to Somalia as an aid worker, had been shot and killed in a car, near the Mogadishu airport.[3]

Career

Adan is the executive director of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, a Mogadishu-based NGO established in honour of her late husband.[4] She serves as the organization's Executive Director, while their daughter Ilwad works alongside her.[5]

Through the center, she also co-founded Sister Somalia, the country's first program for assistance of victims of sexual violence.[1]

Awards

In 2013, Adan was presented an International Women of Courage Award from the United States Department of State.[4]

In 2014, she also received an award from the government of Germany for her work with the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre.[6]

Fartuun Adan, together with her daughter Ilwad Elman was among the finalists nominated for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity in 2017.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Nima Elbagir; Lillian Leposo (5 August 2013). "Rape and injustice: The woman breaking Somalia's wall of silence". CNN. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Documento - Somalia: Amnistia Internacional condena el asesinato de un pacifista". Amnesty International. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. ^ Abdi Latif Dahur (2019-11-20). "'May God have mercy on her': Somali-Canadian aid worker shot dead in Mogadishu compound". National Post. Retrieved 2019-11-22. Elman comes from a prominent family of activists whose work has focused on social justice, women's rights and rehabilitating children affected by Somalia's decades-long war.
  4. ^ a b "2013 International Women of Courage Award Winners". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  5. ^ "Canadian sisters on front lines of rebuilding Somalia". Hiiraan. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  6. ^ "SOMALIA: Government Weekly Press Conference on the Progress". Gaafo. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  7. ^ Aurora Prize. 2017 finalists.