KENYA: First-ever Female Muslim Army Brigadier

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has promoted a Muslim woman to the post of brigadier in the country’s military – the first time ever for a woman to hold such a high rank in the Kenya Defense Forces.

Fatumah Ahmed is not only the first female brigadier in country’s history – she is also the first Muslim woman in the Kenyan military to hold the position.

Ahmed has been serving in the Kenya Defense Forces for 32 years. She first enlisted in the Kenyan military in 1983, serving with the Women Service Corps.

She was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in 1985, when she began working for the Kenyan air force.

“You stand in the front line in defending our country,” Kenyatta declared after promoting Ahmed – along with 14 other officers – at an official ceremony. “We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to… secure the welfare of those who put their lives in harm’s way for the defense of all of us.