Zakia Hussen

Brigadier General Zakia Hussen is a pioneering Somali security official who made history in 2018 as the first woman to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the Somali Police Force and to reach the rank of Brigadier General. After returning from the diaspora in 2012, she led significant institutional reforms, such as creating Somalia’s first all-female special forces unit and modernising community policing efforts. In 2025, her impactful career grew to a continental level when she was appointed Senior Police Peacekeeping Advisor for the African Union and United Nations peacekeeping missions.