Being an immigrant in the western world can be a tough thing. Especially if you’re from a Muslim culture, often times life here is pretty secular, devoid of morality, and all about working for the buck. Back home, it was easier to raise kids in Africa. The community often raised the kids, no one worried that your child will be kidnapped, or abused by others. In this culture, it’s different. Kids don’t even feel safe to play outside. With that said, the focus of child rearing for Somali mothers has become the daughter. Daughters are given more pressure, as a girl who becomes pregnant outside of wedlock not only in the Somali community, but Muslim community (possibly African communities) is seen as bringing great shame to the family. With that said, the focus is on the girls not the boys. So, what we see in the US is girls are doing better academically than the boys. The boys are not given any rules or regulations, they can hang on the “block” all day. The girls typically do all the household chores, but in Somali culture in general household work is typically something women do. Also, the whole feminism thing in America, many boys are failing behind in general compared to their girl counterparts, so Somali boys are also in this mix.
I think Somali parents should be aware of what their kids are doing, especially the boys so they don’t end up being in gangs, shooting each other like what’s happening to American Americans these days. I believe everything starts in the household. Somali parents are not to be blamed because many of them are trying really hard with their traumatic experiences back home, but we must as a community try to uplift our boys. The youth are the future!
Drinking Tea in Mogadhishu 