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Iman Elman, 26-year-old, is the youngest female commander in the Somali National Army and also a captain in the country’s force.
        According to Face to Face Africa, her reason for joining the military is to seek the improvement of the Somali women and then defeat Al-Shabab. She has been a prominent force in the Somali Army since she joined years ago in 2011. Some of the challenges she had to face on duty were sexist behavior and discriminatory comments hurled at her. In one of those challenging moments, she was asked to put together two pairs of trousers into a skirt in lieu of her regular uniform. In an interview with Newsweek, she said that though many people are of the opinion that a woman should not wear trousers, she said she cannot be in skirt if she is to join her colleagues at the war front to fight Al-Shabab. “Many people thought that [a woman wearing trousers] was unacceptable and disrespectful, but I wanted to be at the front with my fellow soldiers and wearing a skirt in that situation was just not realistic,” she said. Though women recruitment into the Somali Army has increased, their number in the force is still fractional and many, according to Face to Face Africa, have the position of a captain. In the same interview with Newsweek, she said that though many are taken aback by her picking up the guy, she is still very in line with the aim of protecting women’s right and bringing down the fundamentalist group in Somali.