Mogadishu — The wife of Somali Prime Minister, Asha Haji Elmi who is also an Mp and an award winning activist for the right of women, has today organized and hosted a meeting in Mogadishu where participants have discussed how to prevent rape against women in Mogadishu today.

Prominent members of all civil society groups and religious leaders in the capital have attended this meeting.

Shiekh Nur Barud Gurhan, the spokesman of the Somali religious council who attended and addressed the gathering, welcomed the host of such important meeting by the wife of the Prime Minister madam Asha Haji Elmi and he advised such awareness meetings should be held throughout all the provinces of the country particularly the newly liberated areas of the nation where allegations of rapes are reported from.

Shikh Nur Barud, who is also one of the most prominent religious leaders in Somalia, said that any government soldier found of a crime such as raping a woman should be executed as previously ordered by Somali president Hassan Shiekh Mohamud.

Abduqadir Ga'al Abkow, who addressed the meeting on behalf of the civil society groups has called for this year 2013 should be the year to terminate rape and other crimes against women.

Madam Asha Haji Elmi, who organized and hosted the gathering finally addressed the meeting, said that it is time that rape against women should come to an end and thatshe told that she met and heard first hand account of stories of women who were themselves raped on the road linking Mogadishu to Afgoye while they were on a trip from Merka..

Elmi said that rape is an appalling crime and she said that the Somali government and the international partners need to cooperate how to prevent and stop rape abuses against women.

Asha Haji Elmi, who is an Mp beside being the wife of the Somali Prime Minister, was flanked by women bearing placards of slogans against rape during her address in today's meeting in Mogadishu.