Imagine being a young, well-educated woman running for public office for the first time and finding out you have no chance of winning, because people won’t vote for a woman. Habon Abdulle, founder and executive director of Ayada Leads, doesn’t have to imagine it, because she lived it. She was living in Padua, Italy, running to serve in an advisory role to the city council on issues impacting the city's growing immigrant and refugee population. Five people were running to fill two open positions. Habon was the only woman running. It was not easy, but she wasn’t intimidated. She had recently gotten her master’s degree in political science, understood how the city’s political systems worked and was ready to put her knowledge and leadership to use on behalf of a community she cared about. But as she campaigned, she learned that people would not vote for her simply because she was a woman. The experience could have disillusioned her and made her bitter, but she didn’t let that happen. Instead, it helped fuel the motivation she would eventually need to start Ayada Leads, an organization that prepares women from the African diaspora to step into civic and political leadership roles.

Surrounded By Strong, Smart Women

Habon grew up in Mogadishu, Somalia, surrounded by strong, smart women in her family and neighborhood. She was the second youngest in a family of seven girls and two boys. Her father, a high ranking official in the military, passed away when she was very young. Habon’s mom became a single parent and responsible for running the household while also being a successful business owner. Habon wanted to grow up to be like her mom. 

Habon’s family had privilege that allowed her to leave home and attend university in Italy after graduating high school. But while she was away, civil war broke out in Somalia. Her family, like many other Somalis, lost everything and told Habon not to return home because it wasn’t safe. In response to the civil war, Habon's visa was extended, although with limited rights. When she realized she couldn't stay in Italy, she started looking for a new home. One day she got a call from a friend and former classmate encouraging her to come to Rochester, Minnesota, because there was so much opportunity. Habon packed her bags and headed to Minnesota hoping to make it her new home.

Better Fit

What Habon knew of the U.S. was based on movies, postcards and videos she’d seen of big cities like New York and San Francisco. Rochester was a lot smaller and experiencing an influx of new arrivals. It didn’t help that she arrived in late October. It felt so different from anywhere else she’d lived. She remembers feeling lost and thought about returning to Italy. But then family members living in Minneapolis encouraged her to move there and she did. Minneapolis was much bigger than Rochester, many Somali had put down roots there and the community was growing. Minneapolis was a much better fit for her

Over the next few years, Habon got to know people, worked on improving her English, got a job, started the process to become a U.S. citizen and began a doctorate in gender studies at the University of Sussex in England. She made Minneapolis her home. As she became more active in the community, she started to see Somali men running for office. She noticed that Somali women were often serving as campaign managers and field directors for many of these candidates. She knew these women to be smart, accomplished and ambitious, and saw them having the same challenges she encountered back in Italy.  When she asked them why they weren’t running for office, the response she got was all too familiar - people wouldn’t vote for a woman. Habon had heard enough and took action. She applied for and was granted a Bush Fellowship, which she used to complete her doctorate in gender studies and gain the knowledge, skills and connections she would need to start and grow Ayada Leads.

Shouldn’t Be Held Back

Habon knew from her own research that creating lasting change would be an iterative process that would take time. Beliefs that Somali women weren’t interested in running for office, that women running for office didn’t reflect Somali culture or that Somali women needed the permission of men and elders to hold leadership roles were entrenched in the community. Even mainstream civic and political organizations believed them. So Habon and other women went out into the community showing up and speaking up at political and civic events and panel discussions around the Twin Cities and building relationships letting people know Somali women wanted to run for office and serve in leadership roles. They also engaged with and respectfully challenged elders who believed that in Somali culture women stayed home and took care of their families. They countered that Somali culture is dynamic and evolving and that women, who wanted to be in civic and political leadership positions, shouldn’t be held back. 

Ayada Leads meets women where they are, whether they want to be more involved in their kids' school, run for office or prepare for public leadership roles. They offer programming and mentorship for women and girls to cultivate their leadership skills. Habon estimates that over 100 women have been mentored by or gone through Ayada Leads programs, and they include U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, Minnesota State Senator and Ayada Leads Deputy Executive Director, Zaynab Mohamed and Nadia Mohamed, the mayor of St. Louis Park, a Minneapolis suburb. 

Women coming to Ayada Leads wanting to run for office typically fall into one of two categories:

• They are experienced grassroots organizers and or worked behind the scenes on political campaigns and need mentoring to get comfortable being out front.

• They are new to political campaigns.

Habon explained that they do an assessment with every woman wanting to run for office regardless of their experience to make sure that they have deep roots in Minnesota and the U.S. Would-be candidates lacking that will not be strong enough to face the misogyny, racism, Islamophobia and attempts by opposing campaigns to other them and convince voters that they don’t belong. 

Means Everything

Ayada Leads is the only organization in the country preparing women from the African diaspora for civic and political leadership, and it has taken off. Today, the staff of smart, talented Somali women is growing. They are in conversation with groups in Atlanta and Ohio to collaborate on bringing more women from the African diaspora to civic and political leadership roles in their communities. Habon says they hope to eventually work internationally.

Habon says it means everything to her to see Somali women running for elected office across Minnesota. She knows many of them, but not all. For those she doesn’t know, she sees their running for office as a sign that Ayada Leads is succeeding in changing the narrative about Somali women. When asked if she plans to run for office a big smile spreads across her face and she says “While I never say never, I have no plans to run at this time but you never know.” As you listen to her, you get the sense she is living her purpose and has become the person she wishes she had when she ran for office in Italy. As a smart, successful leader, Habon is carrying on the legacy of her mom, who passed away in 2003  She takes pride and satisfaction supporting and mentoring women from the African diaspora who are putting their voices and leadership to use on behalf of the communities they care about and call home. 

Learn More

Visit Ayada Leads to learn more about their work, and if you want to support it, you can also make a tax deductible gift there.

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