17 Facts About Hawa Abdi

Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe was a Somali human rights activist and physician.

Hawa Abdi was the founder and chairperson of the Dr Hawa Abdi Foundation, a non-profit organization.

Hawa Abdi thereafter took on family chores, including raising her four younger sisters.

Hawa Abdi's father was a professional who was employed in the port of the capital city.

Hawa Abdi subsequently studied medicine at a Kiev Medical Institute, graduating in 1971.

When Hawa Abdi was twelve years old, she entered into a forced marriage with a significantly older man who was a police officer.

In 1973, Hawa Abdi married Aden and gave birth to her first child two years later.

Hawa Abdi died on 5 August 2020, at her home in Mogadishu.

In 1983, Hawa Abdi opened the Rural Health Development Organization on family-owned land in the southern Lower Shebelle region.

Hawa Abdi subsequently established a new clinic and school for the displaced and orphans.

Two years prior, at the height of the Islamist insurgency in southern Somalia, militants had laid siege to the compound and attempted to force Hawa Abdi to shut it down.

Hawa Abdi stood her ground and the rebels left within a week, following pressure from local residents, the UN and other advocacy groups.

Hawa Abdi was named Hiiraan Onlines Person of the Year in 2007.

Hawa Abdi received the Women of Impact Award from the WITW Foundation, BET's Social Humanitarian Award, and the John Jay Medal for Justice.

In 2014, Hawa Abdi received the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award in Middelburg, the Netherlands.

Hawa Abdi was conferred the Pilosio Building Peace Award one year later.

Hawa Abdi was granted an honorary Doctorate of Science by the University of Pennsylvania in May 2016.