Hawa Feminist Coalition strongly condemns the publication of a video by Mr. Omar Oscar, a Somali-origin video creator and vlogger reportedly based in Sweden, which was shared on his social media platforms on 16 July 2026. The video displayed content from Hawa Feminist Coalition’s official Facebook page and used one of our posts in a manner that, in our view, falsely and misleadingly portrayed our organization as promoting LGBTI issues and other agendas that do not represent the purpose or work of Hawa Feminist Coalition.
We are deeply concerned that such misrepresentation and inflammatory narratives can expose our organization, staff, members and the wider community of feminist and women’s rights activists in Somalia to serious risks. Following the circulation of such content and publication by other online users, our organization and members have experienced increased hostile comments, harassment and threats.
In Somalia’s challenging environment for women human rights defenders and feminist activists, spreading unverified or misleading allegations can have serious consequences. Online vilification can fuel stigma, hostility and intimidation and may place individuals and organizations at risk simply for carrying out legitimate work to advance the rights, dignity and equality of women and girls.
We are further concerned about what we view as a recurring pattern of online content targeting women’s rights defenders and feminist activists through misinformation, hostile narratives and public accusations. Public commentators and content creators have a responsibility to verify information, avoid misrepresentation and refrain from publishing material that may contribute to harassment, threats or violence.
Hawa Feminist Coalition calls on Mr. Omar Oscar to immediately stop spreading false or misleading claims about our organization, correct any inaccurate representations of our work and refrain from publishing content that may endanger our staff, members or other women human rights defenders.
We also call on relevant authorities, social media platforms, civil society organizations and media actors to take threats, harassment and harmful online targeting of women human rights defenders seriously and to support a safer civic space in which activists can exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association without fear.
Hawa Feminist Coalition remains firmly committed to advancing the rights, dignity, equality and empowerment of women and girls in Somalia. We will continue our work peacefully and responsibly despite attempts to misrepresent, intimidate or discredit our organization.
Freedom of expression must not be misused to spread misinformation, incite hostility or place human rights defenders at risk.
Hawa Feminist Coalition
Garowe, Puntland, Somalia
