It was the discovery of the body of a 22-year-old woman on the streets of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, last year that brought into the open the problem of female drug addiction in the city. Health workers said she died from an opioid overdose.
Friends of the social media influencer said she had been injecting drugs for a long time. They said she was high when she recorded some of her popular TikTok videos.
Police have registered an increase in substance abuse in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia, including among women. They say people are turning to new types of drugs.
Whereas they used to chew the narcotic leaf khat – which is not illegal – drink alcohol, sniff glue or smoke hashish, more and more people are abusing opioids which they inject directly into their veins. These include morphine, tramadol, pethidine and codeine.
In early December, police seized a large consignment of prescription drugs, mainly opioids, at Mogadishu’s international airport. They arrested the importers.
“Pills and injectable drugs are especially popular with young women and girls,” said a doctor in Mogadishu, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.
“Many of these substances are addictive and they are readily available to buy without prescription in pharmacies all over the city.”
‘I started sleeping in cars’
Another popular drug used by young women is a form of chewing tobacco known as “tabbuu”, which can cause mouth and throat cancer.
Amino Abdi, 23, has been abusing drugs for the past five years. Although female drug addiction is a taboo subject in Somalia, she has decided to speak about it openly to the BBC in the hope that she can help break the silence and reduce prejudice.
