ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evolution of Somali women's fashions through the different eras of modern Somali history from the precolonial period to the present. It describes the overarching peace and security contexts, the changes in women's status and circumstances, and what women were wearing during each era. The chapter addresses the question of why specific fashions have come into or gone out of style. Somali society is organized according to a segmentary lineage system. Pastoralism is a labour-intensive form of subsistence, and women were traditionally responsible for constructing the family tents and loading them onto camels during migration. In 1960, two portions of the lands of the Somalis Somalia and Somaliland achieved independence from the Italians and the British respectively, and joined to form the state of Somalia. During the years leading up to the civil war and following the collapse of the government, political Islam began making inroads into Somalia.
