Job Description

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Access to justice for women and girls in Somalia remains deeply constrained. An estimated 80 to 90% of disputes1, including gender-based violence (GBV) cases, are resolved through the customary Xeer justice system, which does not recognize women as independent legal actors and frequently produces outcomes that compound rather than address harm. Between July and September 2023 alone, 2,823 GBV cases were reported nationally, of which 714 involved sexual violence. Only four per cent of survivors reported to security institutions, and none of those cases resulted in prosecution. The formal justice system offers limited recourse. Somalia has no standalone GBV legislation, existing legal frameworks does not explicitly address domestic sexual violence, legal aid services are severely limited, and the under-representation of women in the justice sector further deters survivors. There is currently only one female judge nationally, and women constitute fewer than ten per cent of lawyers.

In 2021, UN Women Somalia commissioned a study on the gender dimensions of the informal justice system in Somalia. The study employed a mixed-methods design across eight districts, including quantitative data collection from 1,017 women and qualitative interviews with 76 key informants and 16 focus group discussions. The study produced substantive findings on procedural and distributive justice under the Xeer system, women's justice preferences, clan dynamics, and reporting barriers.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related operational disruptions, the study was never formally validated or published. As a result, its findings have not been made available to government counterparts, civil society, or development partners in a form suitable for informing policy and programming. This consultancy is designed to address that gap. The revision, validation, and publication of the study have been agreed with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MoJCA) following a meeting in April 2026, and the updated study will directly inform planned dialogue and policy activities under UN Women Somalia's Rule of Law workstream.

Under the overall guidance of the Country Programme Manager and in close coordination with the UN Women Somalia program staff, the consultant will:

of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

• Examine the rights accorded to women under Islamic law and assess the extent to which those rights are realized in practice within the Somali context.
• Analyze how Sharia law is interpreted and applied across Somalia’s legal plurality, including interactions with Xeer and statutory law, and identify where these interactions produce barriers or opportunities for women’s access to justice.
• Map structural, legal, and socio-cultural barriers that prevent women from exercising their rights under each of the three legal frameworks, including barriers specific to GBV cases.
• Generate evidence-based recommendations for legal, institutional, and policy reform aligned with both Islamic principles and international human rights standards, and suitable for use by MoJCA and development partners.
• Produce a publication-ready report that complements existing evidence on women’s access to justice in Somalia and can be used in policy dialogue, legislative advocacy, and programming.

Deliverables

1. Desk Review and Inception:

• Review the 2021 UN Women study on gender dimensions of the informal justice system, the MoJCA Justice Sector Strategy 2025–2029, the National Transformation Plan 2025–2030, and relevant international and regional human rights instruments;
• Review key Islamic legal sources (Qur’an, Hadith, and fiqh) as relevant to women’s rights, roles, and access to justice, drawing on established scholarship to avoid surface-level or contested interpretations;
• Review secondary sources including GBVIMS data, court records where available, government reports, and programming documentation on women’s access to justice in Somalia;
• Produce an inception report setting out the proposed methodology, analytical framework, data collection tools, and a detailed work plan. The inception report must demonstrate how the study will complement rather than duplicate the findings of the 2021 study.

2. Field Consultations and Primary Data Collection:

• Conduct field consultations across a minimum of three Federal Member States and Banadir, ensuring geographic diversity and coverage of both urban and rural contexts;
• Engage a range of stakeholders including women from diverse socio-economic and clan backgrounds, religious leaders (ulema), judges and legal practitioners (formal, Sharia-based, and customary), civil society organizations, and relevant government institutions at federal and state levels;
• Use a combination of key informant interviews and focus group discussions, with particular attention to women’s lived experiences of seeking justice across the three legal frameworks. IDP communities and minority clan members should be included;
• Ensure all data collection is conducted with informed consent, confidentiality protection, and appropriate GBV safeguarding protocols.

3. Validation Workshop

• Organize and facilitate a structured validation workshop in Mogadishu, in coordination with UN Women Somalia and MoJCA;
• Present draft findings to government counterparts, international community, religious leaders, civil society, and justice sector stakeholders, and incorporate feedback into the final report.

4. Report Finalization and Dissemination Products

• Produce a final, publication-ready study report of approximately 40 to 60 pages, incorporating validation feedback, with an executive summary, findings, analysis, and actionable recommendations;
• The report must include: a doctrinal analysis of women’s rights under Islamic law as relevant to the Somali context; an analysis of how Sharia is interpreted and applied in practice; mapping of interactions between Sharia, Xeer, and statutory law as they affect women’s access to justice; identification of structural and institutional barriers; and recommendations specific to Somalia’s reform agenda;
• Produce a concise, user-friendly policy brief (maximum 6 pages) summarizing key findings and recommendations for government and development partner audiences, in English and Somali.

Deliverable Table:

Deliverable Expected completion time (due day) Payment Schedule (optional)
Inception report including revised methodology, updated data collection tools, and detailed work plan
By 15th June 2026
40 %
Field consultation report summarizing key informant interviews and focus group discussions across federal member states
By 10th July 2026
Validation workshop facilitation, including logistics support, workshop agenda, and summary of stakeholder feedback
By 30th July 2026
60%
Final updated study report (publication-ready, 50 to 70 pages) incorporating validation feedback, with executive summary and recommendations
By 20th August 2026

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

The consultancy is of hybrid modality HomeBased with travel to field locations across Federal Member States

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated expertise in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) as it relates to women's rights, with the ability to engage credibly with established scholarship and avoid surface-level or contested interpretations;
• Strong knowledge of Somalia's plural legal system, including the interplay between Sharia, Xeer, and statutory law, and familiarity with the Somali justice sector reform agenda;
• Proven research and analytical skills, including the design and application of mixed methods research, doctrinal legal analysis, and gender-responsive analytical frameworks;
• Demonstrated experience conducting GBV-sensitive data collection, with sound command of informed consent, confidentiality, do no harm, and survivor-centred safeguarding protocols;
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to navigate sensitively across religious leaders (ulema), government counterparts, judiciary, civil society, and women from diverse clan and socio-economic backgrounds;
• Excellent drafting skills in English, including the ability to produce publication-ready reports and concise policy briefs suitable for government and development partner audiences;
• Sound understanding of international and regional human rights instruments (CEDAW, Maputo Protocol, UPR) and how to align reform recommendations with both Islamic principles and human rights standards;
• Ability to deliver against tight timelines, manage a multi-location field assignment, and facilitate a structured validation workshop with senior stakeholders;
• Cultural sensitivity and contextual awareness of Somalia's federal political environment, clan dynamics, and operating realities across Federal Member States;
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision while coordinating closely with UN Women programme staff and MoJCA.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• An advanced degree in law, Islamic studies, gender studies, development studies, or a related field is required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in Islamic jurisprudence and its application to women’s rights, and/or in legal pluralism and access to justice in fragile and conflict-affected contexts;
• Proven experience conducting qualitative and mixed-methods research in Somalia or comparable contexts, with demonstrated ability to engage sensitively with communities on issues related to gender, justice, and religion;
• Strong analytical and report-writing skills in English; Somali language proficiency an asset;
• Prior experience working with UN agencies, government ministries, or development partners on rule of law, GBV, or women’s rights programming in Somalia is an advantage;
• Familiarity with the 2021 UN Women study on gender dimensions of the informal justice system in Somalia, or willingness to engage substantively with its findings as a foundational document for this assignment.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required ;
• Proficiency in Somali (including Af-Maay) is required for field data collection.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process