As a woman in Somalia, Halima Abdulle is well aware that leadership roles in her country have traditionally been reserved for men. But this reality didn’t stop her from rising to the top of her field. Soft spoken with an easy demeanor, Halima is a registered nurse, a physiotherapist and the director of the Somali Red Crescent Rehabilitation Centre, a facility in Mogadishu that helps patients learn to use new prosthetic arms or legs.
Halima Mohamed Abdulle is a registered nurse, a physiotherapist and the director of the SRCS rehabilitation centre in Mogadishu. She has worked at the centre since 1986. ©Mari A. Mørtvedt/Norwegian Red Cross
Halima Mohamed Abdulle, the director of the SRCS rehabilitation centre in Mogadishu where patients learn to use new prosthetic arms or legs. ©Mari A. Mørtvedt/Norwegian Red Cross
Nasra Ali, 5, suffered an epileptic seizure resulting in brain damage at the end of 2016 and is now walking for the first time. For more than 30 years, the SRCS rehabilitation centre in Mogadishu has provided patients with physical therapy. ©Mari A. Mørtvedt/Norwegian Red Cross
The Somali Red Crescent Rehabilitation Centre, a facility in Mogadishu that makes and helps patients learn to use orthopedic braces and, new prosthetic arms or legs. ©Mari A. Mørtvedt/Norwegian Red Cross