Moumina Houssein Darar

Born in Djibouti City, Djibouti, in 1990, Moumina Houssein Darar is the oldest of nine siblings—six brothers and two sisters. At age 23, she joined the Djiboutian National Police Force and quickly rose through the ranks in a male dominated profession. Ms. Darar trail blazed her way to the exclusive specialty of anti-terrorism investigations, where she consistently serves as the lead investigator for high-profile investigations. Her investigative efforts have led to the conviction and/or deportation of numerous Al-Shabaab terrorists. She enabled Djiboutian National Police (DNP) to thwart several attempted terrorist attacks after the 2014 La Chaumiere bombing in Djibouti City. She has confronted multiple terrorist suspects and hundreds of illegal immigrants, who were initially resistant to being interviewed by a female police officer. Ms. Darar has also worked undercover as a male to advance terrorism investigations. She has faced numerous challenges since joining the Police Force, including threats to her personal safety. Criminals she detained or convicted, when eventually released, would verbally abuse her. She has even been assaulted by children throwing rocks at her in the street, simply because she was a female police officer, and endured other threats simply for being a woman in uniform. Despite the abuse, she has persevered and remains committed to helping her entire community. Besides her passion for bettering the community through her law enforcement efforts, Ms. Darar has been a leader in community service. Four years ago, Moumina developed the idea to start a charitable neighborhood organization to assist children in need, as well as provide other services and assistance to help the local community.