Somalia’s Deputy Speaker of Lower house distances herself from advocating the controversial Sexual Intercourse Bill

The first deputy speaker of the Lower House of the Somali parliament, Sadia Yasin Samatar, has distanced herself from pushing the controversial Sexual Intercourse Bill, also known as the Penetration Bill.

The bill sparked outrage among Somalis and was seen as incompatible with Islam and Somali culture after being introduced in parliament in 2020.

Sadia Yassin reiterated that she was not one of those advocating for the bill, She emphasized that she is one of the officials campaigning for the bill to be revised to align it with Islamic Sharia.

Speaker Sadia Yassin made the comments at an event marking 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in Mogadishu. During the event, she said, “I will leave Mogadishu if the parliament does not pass the bill.”

Many people believed that she was referring to the Sexual Intercourse Bill, which the parliament rejected before she was elected to deputy speaker of the parliament.