Women Development & Alliance Org

Founded in Jijiga (in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia) in October 2019 by Fatuma Nour Barkhadle, the Women for Development and Reliance Organization (WDRO) is a non-governmental, non-political organisation dedicated to raising awareness among women in the Somali Region and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to contribute meaningfully to their communities.

Their headquarters are in Jijiga (Jijigaland) and they also operate in surrounding areas like Kabribayah (Fafan Zone). The organisation is planning to open branches in zonal towns of the region.

Understanding the Context

The Somali Region of Ethiopia is home to many pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities, with a history marked by recurrent droughts, conflict, displacement, and structural marginalisation of women. In this socio-cultural environment, women often face barriers in education, economic participation, political leadership, and decision-making. WDRO was born out of this reality, recognising that unless women are empowered, entire communities remain excluded from full development.

Vision & Mission

WDRO’s vision is:

“To see prosperous, developed, healthy Somali women who participate and contribute to the issues that affect their lives and their families as a whole.”

Their mission is to strive for the betterment of women, and to advocate for government project frameworks that are responsive to women’s needs in the Somali Regional State.

Core Focus Areas

EAST AFRICAN women’s movements (including WDRO) highlight seven core female issues:

• Women, Peace & Security
• Violence Against Women
• Political Participation & Leadership
• Economic Empowerment
• HIV/AIDS & Reproductive Health
• Human Rights of Women
• Education

WDRO explicitly works within these thematic areas, tailoring programmes to meet the particular needs of Somali Region women.

Key Programmes & Activities

Though detailed project lists are still emerging, WDRO’s work comprises the following major strands:

1. Awareness Raising & Capacity Building

Providing workshops, trainings and information sessions on women’s rights, gender‐based violence (GBV), reproductive health, leadership, and community involvement.

Engaging women in rural and zonal towns to increase their knowledge and confidence to participate in community decision-making.

2. Economic Empowerment

Promoting livelihood skill development, supporting women to gain income-generating activities, thereby reducing economic vulnerability.

Encouraging membership or formation of women’s groups, cooperatives, or associations to boost collective action and economic resilience.

3. Political Participation & Leadership

Creating platforms where women can develop leadership skills and enter civic and political spaces.

Advocating for the inclusion of women in local governance structures, and ensuring their voices are heard in community planning.

4. Violence Prevention & Human Rights Advocacy

Addressing violence against women and girls through awareness, referral systems, and working to shift social norms that condone harmful practices.

Safeguarding the rights of women as enshrined in national and international frameworks, and supporting women to claim those rights.

5. Education & Health

Supporting girls’ access to education, retention and completion, and encouraging adult women’s education or literacy programmes.

Working with maternal and reproductive health issues, HIV/AIDS awareness, and community health linkages for women.

Achievements & Growth

While WDRO is relatively newly established, it is already making strides:

• The presence of a registered NGO in the Somali Region focused solely on women’s development is significant in a context where women’s organisations are often limited.

• The organisation is building credibility and networks; by anchoring its work in multiple gender areas it is positioned to create holistic impact rather than single‐issue interventions.

• WDRO’s outreach from its headquarters in Jijiga, and plans to expand into zonal towns, speaks to its ambition to scale and localise impact.

Challenges & Opportunities

The road ahead for WDRO, however, is not without obstacles:

• Cultural and normative constraints: In the Somali Region, gender norms and traditional roles may limit women’s participation in public life. WDRO must continue to work sensitively and collaboratively to shift attitudes and build trust.

• Resource limitations: As with many NGOs, funding, capacity, staffing and infrastructure are a challenge. Scaling into zonal towns requires investment.

• Geographical & logistical barriers: Many women live in remote pastoralist settings, which makes outreach, training and sustained engagement more complex.

• Integration with government systems: To achieve sustainable change, WDRO must work with, not just parallel to, government frameworks and ensure policy, programmes and budgets are responsive to women – which is part of their mission but is a complex process.

Why WDRO Matters

WDRO’s work is critical for several reasons:

• Empowering women is central to development. When women have the knowledge, skills and opportunity to participate fully, entire communities (families, children, neighbourhoods) benefit.

• Gender equality remains a major gap. In the Somali Region, women’s access to education, health services, income and decision‐making is shaped by intersectional barriers of geography, culture, conflict, poverty and drought. WDRO addresses many of these simultaneously.

• Local leadership matters. WDRO is led by women and rooted in its own region. Local organisations often have better legitimacy, context understanding and potential for sustainability than externally driven ones.

• Holistic programming is more impactful. By linking economic, health, education, rights and leadership aspects, WDRO is positioned to catalyse long‐term change rather than short‐term fixes.

Conclusion

The Women for Development and Reliance Organization stands as a rising force for change in Ethiopia’s Somali Region. By centering women’s development across the full spectrum of rights, health, education, leadership and livelihoods, WDRO is helping to rewrite the story of what is possible for Somali women and their communities. Its vision – that prosperous, developed, healthy women will participate in and shape the issues that affect their lives and families – is bold, but absolutely needed.

For every programme facilitated, every woman trained, and every barrier challenged, WDRO moves the region one step closer to a future where women are not only beneficiaries of development, but architects of it. Their journey is a powerful reminder: when women rise, communities rise with them.