Edna Adan Ismail, 85, on Tuesday added a new feather in her cap, having been named the 2023 Templeton Prize recipient.
She bagged £1.1 million (about Sh188 million) and became the first African woman to win the prestigious award, whose first winner was Mother Teresa in 1973.
The Somaliland trailblazer was the country’s first trained nurse and midwife. She is also a hospital founder and a healthcare advocate.
John Templeton Foundation president Heather Templeton Dill, in a statement, said Edna had “harnessed the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it”.
In particular, she was recognised for her role in fighting female genital mutilation (FGM) across the world and transforming women’s health.
“Drawing on the doctrines of the Muslim faith, she has employed her positions of authority to argue passionately that, despite what some have believed, female circumcision is against the teachings of Islam, and deeply harmful to women,” said Ms Dill.
Edna, in a previous interview with Berkley Center at Georgetown University, recalled how she underwent the cut. “When I was eight, my mother subjected me to FGM without my father’s knowledge. His outraged reaction planted the seeds of my sense of injustice, and started the embryo that led me much later to act.”
Unending scars
She maintained that while the wounds may heal, the pain never leaves, stressing the importance of education in combating FGM as opposed to legislation that remains flouted and only forces the practice underground.
Edna was also hailed for improving maternal health outcomes and empowering girls. She is the founder of the Edna Adan University and Edna Adan Hospital, which has significantly reduced maternal mortality.
“I feel blessed and honoured to receive this award. The funds will be used to support the hospital in obtaining medical equipment, hiring expert educators, enabling expansion to serve more patients, and to continue training the next generation of healthcare workers in East Africa,” she said.
Besides trailblazing in the award, Edna was also the first Somali woman to study in England, and to drive a car in Somaliland. She was also the country’s first female cabinet minister, and is a former first lady.
Following the recognition, she joins a list of 52 Prize recipients.
