Edna Adan Ismail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edna Adan Ismail
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| 8th Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office June 25, 2003 – June 26, 2006 |
|
| President | Dahir Riyale Kahin |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Saed Gees |
| Succeeded by | Abdilahi Mohamed Dualeh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 September 1937 (age 87) Hargeisa, British Somaliland (now Somaliland) |
| Education | Borough Polytechnic (now London South Bank University) |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Known for | Activist for the abolition of female ... ... (FGM) |
| Awards | Templeton Prize (2023) |
| Signature |  |
Edna Adan Ismail was born on September 8, 1937. She is a dedicated nurse midwife and a strong activist. She made history as the first female Foreign Minister of Somaliland, serving from 2003 to 2006. Before that, she worked as Somalia's Minister of Family Welfare and Social Development.
Edna Adan is the founder and director of the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Hargeisa. ..... She leads the Organization for Victims of Torture. In March 2022, she became the president of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Edna Adan Ismail was born in Hargeisa, which was then called British Somaliland. Her father was a well-known Somali medical doctor. At that time, girls in Somaliland usually did not go to school. However, her father hired a tutor for some local boys, and Edna learned to read and write with them.
Later, she attended a school in Djibouti where her aunt was a teacher. When she was eight years old, she experienced FGM. Her mother and grandmother arranged it while her father was away. When he returned, he was very upset.
Edna wanted to prevent other women from going through the same difficult experience. She decided to train as a nurse and midwife in the United Kingdom. She studied at the Borough Polytechnic, which is now London South Bank University.
She is known as "the first Somali girl" to study in Britain. She was also Somalia’s first qualified nurse-midwife and the first Somali woman to drive a car.
Building a Hospital
.jpg)
In 1980, Edna Adan began building a hospital in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. However, she had to leave the country when the Somaliland War of Independence started in 1981.
She later returned to Somaliland and started building a maternity hospital from scratch. She still runs this hospital today. The Edna Adan Maternity Hospital officially opened on March 9, 2002. The land for the hospital was given to her by the local government. It used to be a rubbish dump.
The region did not have enough trained nurses because many had left or died during the civil war. So, Edna hired over 30 people and began training them in 2000, even while the hospital was still being built. The hospital now has two operating rooms, a laboratory, a library, and a computer center. It also has a special wing for training nurses and midwives. As of 2018, the hospital had 200 staff members and 1500 students.
The main goal of the Edna Adan Hospital is to improve the health of local people. It especially focuses on reducing the high number of mothers and babies who die during childbirth. The hospital is a non-profit organization and a teaching hospital for midwives. It also trains student nurses and assistant laboratory technicians.
Charity Work and Advocacy
Edna Adan Ismail's work is supported by charities in the United Kingdom and the United States. These charities help her raise money and spread awareness. Their goal is to train more midwives and fight against FGM in Somaliland.
.jpg)
Edna Adan was the only female minister in the Somaliland government until July 2006. She continues to speak up for the democratic wishes of the people of Somaliland. In March 2022, she was chosen as the President of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.
Awards and Recognition
Edna Adan Ismail has received many awards for her important work. In 2002, she received the AMANITARE Annual Award for opening her private maternity hospital.
In March 2007, her name was added to the Medical Mission Hall of Fame at the University of Toledo in Ohio. This was to honor her lifelong contributions to helping people. She also has an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Clark University in Massachusetts. In 2008, she became an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University in Wales. In 2018, she received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
In 2012, Edna Adan was featured in a documentary called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. This series showed women and girls who faced tough challenges but bravely fought to overcome them. She was also a guest on the long-running radio show Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017.
Some people have called her "The Muslim Mother Teresa" because of her dedication. In 2018, she received another honorary doctorate from London South Bank University. In 2019, she wrote a book about her life called "A Woman of Firsts." In 2023, she was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize.
See also
- Edna Adan Maternity Hospital
- Edna Adan University
