A life of service to women and children

Zeitun Aden Hassan has built her career around a simple but demanding conviction that women and children deserve to live with dignity, safety and hope.

Today, she serves as the Acting Director for Gender and Culture in the Garissa County Government and as the County Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Child Protection Focal Person.

She is also a gender and climate change advocate, humanitarian and social safeguards practitioner.

Since beginning her work in 2014, Hassan has devoted herself to protecting women and children, advancing gender equality and strengthening systems designed to shield some of society’s most vulnerable members.

Her journey, however, was shaped and forged by what she witnessed around her.

“I could not ignore the realities around me,” she says.

Growing up and working within her community, Hassan saw women and children confronted by GBV, harmful cultural practices, discrimination and inequality.

Patriarchal systems, she says, frequently denied women and girls opportunities to participate in decisions affecting their own lives.

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She also witnessed survivors carrying painful experiences in silence and children forced to live with circumstances they had never chosen.

“I knew I could either accept those realities or dedicate my life to changing them. I chose the latter, and it has become my life’s purpose,” she says.

That choice has placed Hassan at the centre of some of the most difficult cases confronting families and communities in Garissa.

As the county’s GBV and Child Protection Focal Person, her responsibilities extend far beyond the confines of an office. Violence, she notes, does not operate according to official working hours.

She remains on call around the clock, coordinating emergency responses, supporting survivors, managing complex GBV and child protection cases and connecting survivors with essential services.

Her work requires constant collaboration with police, health facilities, the Judiciary, community leaders and development partners to ensure survivors receive protection, medical and psychosocial support, legal assistance and justice.

“Every case carries a story. Some stories never leave you,” Hassan says.

Among the greatest challenges she has faced is confronting harmful cultural practices and patriarchal attitudes that have been entrenched for generations.

Changing such attitudes requires more than policies and public declarations. It demands difficult conversations, patience and persistence, particularly when those challenging established norms become targets themselves.

Hassan says she has received threats because of her advocacy work. At times, she has been forced to change the routes she uses to get home, remain constantly conscious of her surroundings and take additional precautions for her personal safety.

Such experiences expose a less visible side of advocacy.

While the work may be celebrated publicly, the personal risks and sacrifices behind it often remain unseen and the emotional burden is another challenge.

For Hassan, children affected by abuse are particularly difficult cases to process. As a mother, she says, listening to children recount experiences of violence never becomes easy.

“Those stories do not end when I leave the office. I carry them home with me,” she says.

The experiences have made her more protective of her own children and deepened her determination to contribute to communities where children can grow up feeling safe, loved and protected from violence.

Yet Hassan has also learnt an important lesson that people who dedicate their lives to caring for others must also find ways to care for themselves.

For her, that sanctuary is the kitchen.

Cooking and baking have become a form of therapy. When emotional exhaustion becomes overwhelming, she kneads dough, decorates cakes and experiments with new recipes.

“My kitchen is my happy place,” she says.

There, away from the intensity of GBV and child protection case management, she finds space to breathe, slow down and reconnect with herself.

Her work has attracted several recognitions over the years, reflecting its impact of her work.

In 2024, Hassan was honoured as a Heroine during Kenya’s Mashujaa Day celebrations for her contribution to advancing the rights, safety and dignity of women and children.

In 2026, she was recognised among the Top 100 Women in Leadership in Kenya during the Independent Kenya Women Awards.

She also recently received the Exemplary Leadership Award under the Viongozi Bora category at the Women Achievers Africa Conference and Awards, the only woman from North Eastern Kenya and the only Somali woman recognised in that category.

But awards, she insists, are not the reason she continues.

Her greatest reward is witnessing survivors regain confidence, seeing children return to school with hope and watching communities gradually reject violence and embrace equality.

Hassan has extended this work beyond her public service role through Grassroot Women Network, an organisation she founded to support women and girls through advocacy, psychosocial support, mentorship, economic empowerment and community awareness.

The organisation also provides a safe shelter for adolescent and adult survivors of GBV, offering protection, counselling, case management, referrals and an environment where survivors can begin rebuilding their lives.