The Duchess of Edinburgh has continued her pledge to help victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) by undertaking a rare visit to Somalia.
Sophie, 61, spent two days in the east African country at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and arrived into the capital city of Mogadishu on February 23.
The Duchess, who is committed to drawing attention to violence against women across the globe, met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Villa Somalia to discuss how women can help to enhance peace and resilience across communities.
She was later joined by first daughter Jihan Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to meet survivors of gender and sexual-based violence perpetuated by al-Shabaab militants, and received briefings from key local partners about the prevalence of SGBV.
During a visit to a Somali village in Lower Shabelle, the empathetic Duchess spoke with the wives of Somali soldiers about the risk of violence and the array of personal challenges they face.
Then, the following day, Sophie held a meeting at the British Embassy with Somali organisations and partners to discuss the array of gender-based challenges exacerbated by conflict, drought and a lack of resources.
She later visited a hospital in central Mogadishu to learn about the devastating impact of female genital mutilation, rape and sexual assault on Somali women and the role a UK-funded service programme has played in strengthening service delivery.
The sexual and reproductive health programme, which operates across 39 health facilities in five Somalian regions, is run by International Rescue Committee.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, 61, spent two days in the east African country at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and arrived into the capital city of Mogadishu on February 23
As a champion of the UN’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda, Sophie has often focused her royal charity work around the importance of raising awareness of SGBV and the need for greater access to key resources
As a champion of the UN’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda, Sophie has often focused her royal charity work around the importance of raising awareness of SGBV and the need for women’s access to key resources.
Her profound trip also sought to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to its strategic partnership with Somalia and a public display of solidarity with the nation’s security forces.
According to Buckingham Palace, the Duchess’s visit sought to shed light on the ‘crucial role women play in peacebuilding, strengthening community resilience and supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence’.
However, her Somalian arrival was not announced in advance due to security reasons – with citizens advised to avoid any travel to the war-torn country due to the threat of terrorist groups and instances of violence.
On February 24, Sophie continued her regional diplomatic engagements by travelling to Kenya for a two-day visit.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, the Duchess, who donned a Suzannah London dress, met for lunch with The British Chamber of Commerce-Kenya members to learn about how they are shaping the economy’s future.
While learning more about the role of Kenyan women in promoting peace, security and growth in the face of conflict, the Duchess is also keen to work on strengthening the UK-Kenya collaboration, according to the British High Commission of Nairobi.
Since her royal career first began, Sophie has pledged to raise awareness of the issue of sexual violence and in October visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to ‘shine a light’ on the ‘weaponisation of rape’.
The Duchess, who is committed to drawing attention to violence against women across the globe, met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (pictured right) at Villa Somalia to discuss how women can help to enhance peace and resilience across communities
During a visit to a Somali village in Lower Shabelle, an empathetic Sophie spoke with the wives of Somali soldiers about the risk of violence and the array of personal challenges they face
During her three-day visit, she met women peacebuilders working at the grassroots level to highlight their work supporting local peace initiatives and witnessed the devastating impact of the ongoing conflict, particularly on women and girls.
In recent years the King’s sister-in-law, who is married to his brother, Prince Edward, has travelled to current and former war zones including Chad, the Congo, Kosovo, South Chad, Lebanon and Sierra Leone.
She has devoted much of her latter working life as a royal to supporting the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and is passionate about championing gender equality.
In 2022, Sophie, who is married to King Charles’s brother Prince Edward, became the first member of the royal family to travel to the DRC. Her visit this week, her second, was at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
In April 2024 she was also the first member of the royal family to visit Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began in 2022. That October, she was the first to visit the Republic of Chad to witness the impact of the conflict in Sudan on women and girls.
In June, the Duchess spoke passionately about her campaign to highlight the plight of victims of sexual violence and insistd that the country ‘must do better’.
At the UK’s first exhibition dedicated to the subject, Sophie, who made the visit ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, declared that the topic was woefully ‘under-discussed’.
The Duchess spoke movingly about a visit she had made to Kosovo in 2019 and how deeply moved she had been when speaking to women about the ‘shame and stigma’ they experienced as a result of being brutalised.
On February 24, Sophie continued her regional diplomatic engagements by travelling to Kenya for a two-day visit. Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, the Duchess met for lunch with The British Chamber of Commerce-Kenya members (pictured)
Discussing the horror of the many women who fell pregnant by their attackers, she said: ‘Unless we as a society help, we have to help people understand that they are not the ones who have the shame.
‘It is not their lives who should be destroyed. We have to do better.’
Sophie’s visit also comes as her husband, Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, was forced to pull out of a key royal event at St James’s Palace with King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester on February 24.
While no official statement was made, his absence was cited to be as a result of Edward, 61, unexpectedly coming down with a cold.
As the royals handed out awards to 19 universities and colleges, it marked the largest gathering to date of the Royal Family since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on February 19.
Following his brother’s arrest in relation to allegations of misconduct in public office, the King expressed his ‘deepest concern’ and pledged that ‘my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all’.
