I was doing my normal proactive procrastination of reading the New York Times the other day when I stumbled on a headline that wasn’t as surprising as it should be. Somalia has consistently been ranked as a failed state since 1991, the start of the Somali Civil War. A Western-backed, democratically elected government has been in place since 2004, but its power doesn’t range much farther than a few blocks of the capital of Mogadishu. The southern portion of the state is ruled by Al-Shabab, which means “The Youth” in Arabic. The insurgent group was largely unknown four years ago, but is gaining strength and imposing its narrow interpretation of Islamic law in the region.

The group is also recruiting for its continual warfare. Youth are approached with the prospect of a $400 signing bonus, training (however shoddy it may be), and a constant salary- if they survive. Women are also recruited, mainly to marry the insurgents so that the fighters have more of a will to live rather than sacrifice themselves needlessly in battle.

All of this news naturally turned my stomach, but it was the original headline I read that made me the most upset. Al-Shabab has banned school bells in a town only 55 miles away from the capital.

This decision is supposedly because school bells sound too much like church bells and therefore are contradictory to Islam- but the underlying motive is clear. If there are no school bells, children won’t know when to go to school or change classes when they are in it, and may start forgetting to go or drop out entirely. This obviously undermines their education, making them more likely to remain in poverty for the rest of their lives- and much easier targets for Al-Shabab’s recruiters.

This school bell ban is only in one town, so far, but it is unclear whether the decision will be spread across Al-Shabab’s territory. The group has already taken other steps to constrain its population, including requiring women to wear the floor-length burqa. Keeping your population physically restricted and uneducated is one way to rule, sure- but this isn’t what a true government does. Here’s hoping more people realize this and turn the tide of Al-Shabab against itself.

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