The Contribution of Interpersonal Communication to Conflict Resolution Among Somali Women Groups in Isiolo County

Abstract

Somali woman lives in a patriarchal society, this has seen the Somali woman dominated and this has posed a problem for the woman, especially in instances of conflict and conflict resolution. The culture and religion inhibits interpersonal communication and limits the Somali woman interaction and consequently an avenue for the woman self-expression is reduced. Self-help groups in isiolo are made up of different women with different social background, socialization and levels of education, this has introduced ground for conflict brought about by the interactions from differences in values, beliefs and attitudes and this has in turn hindered group goal achievement. This study seeks to investigate the role of effective interpersonal communication in conflict resolution among Somali women group in Isiolo County. This study is important because the information from this study will complement the literature on the contribution of interpersonal communication to conflict resolution. It will also add to the scanty literature on group conflicts. No study is easily available on Somali women, and there is very scanty information on communication between groups on arid and semi-arid women. The researcher used the functional group communication theory to explain the communication within the group citing cohesion and unity of the as dependent on effective communication. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in data collection, Convenience sampling was used as the sampling method due to the suitability to the study. The findings and conclusions of the study was that: interpersonal communication contributes to conflict escalation, that the group communication would fail if women do not all agree on the common group goal, that group cohesion is dependent on effective communication and that communication simplifies work and relationships allowing for easy group success