Deqo Mohamud Hassan

A Somali educator who founded schools for girls in conflict zones, defying societal norms and violence to promote education.

Deqo Mohamud Hassan (born 1972) is a visionary educator from Somalia renowned for establishing schools in regions ravaged by civil war. Despite the collapse of Somalia's government in 1991, Hassan refused to abandon her mission to educate girls, a radical act in a society where female literacy rates were below 20%. In 1995, she co-founded the Somali Women's Education and Research Center, which evolved into a network of schools across Mogadishu and rural areas. Her approach combined traditional literacy with peacebuilding curricula, training teachers to mediate community conflicts. By 2005, her schools enrolled over 5,000 students annually, earning recognition from UNESCO’s Education for All initiative. Hassan’s methods inspired similar programs in Yemen and South Sudan, proving education could thrive even in unstable regions. Her 2010 TEDx talk, "Education as a Weapon Against War," highlighted how schools became safe havens during Al-Shabaab attacks. Despite surviving multiple assassination attempts, she remains a symbol of resilience, recently launching a digital learning platform for displaced children (Hassan Education Initiative).