There is optimism among Somalis about the changing political and security situation in Somalia, and understandably so. There is finally a new permanent Somali government created in Mogadishu, a new constitution and Alshabab, the main armed opposition to the government, are on the run.

Hassan Sheikh, Somalia's new president, had articulated his vision in the many interviews he already gave:  security, he says, is his top priority followed by end ending corruption and good governance.

A victim of rape in one of Mogadishu hospitals

But I would argue his first priority should be the protection of women from his government's  security forces, specially in Mogadishu's IDP camps.

I was in Mogadishu last year during the famine and  there were already stories of government soldiers raping women in the IDP camps, often in front of their husbands and children. In some cases they shot the man and raped the woman next to her dying husband.

These stories were difficult to comprehend: how could someone rape a women who just fled famine and hunger with her children? And how to comprehend these attacks from the same people who suppose to protect her? And why is this not an issue for the government?

I didn't have the time to investigate these stories further but Jamal Osman interviewed some of the victims and produced an excellent report (You can watch it here). Some estimate the number of rape cases to be in the hundreds but are not reported because of shame and there are few organizations working on this. Women in the IDP camps are more venerable because they're too poor and too far away from home to be able to fight back, and the rapists know that.

The problem is that the so-called government soldiers are the same tribal militias who had been killing and raping in and around Mogadishu for past two decades under the leadership of the same warlords. Now the militias wear uniforms and the warlords have army ranks (For example, warlord Yusuf Indha Adde, was given the rank of general. Others are members of parliament).

When Alshabab were chased out of Marka recently, government soldiers raped women in the city the same day they entered. They did the same in Afgooye. The government had done nothing so far, it's not even an issue for them.

How can we move forward if the government's soldiers are killing and raping the people they should protect. What is the point of chasing out Alshabab or other armed groups if the government's security are worse. e.

The people need to feel that it's benefitial for them to have a govenment. That there is law and order. The government's soldiers need to know that there is consequence to their actions, that the old days of lawlessness is gone. Rapists need to be brought out, charged and publicly shamed.

The president/prime minister will have to speak up about  the issue and started the process of shaming anyone who attacks a women and that's not difficult to do. Secondly, there needs to be an urgent, concret action (i.e. forming a special court to bring to justice anyone accused of rape might be a good place to start).