Hodan Ahmed

Hodan Ahmed (; ) is a Somali political activist. She helped form the Somali Women Parliamentary Association the Transitional Federal Parliament of Somalia, which was succeeded by the Federal Parliament of Somalia. She serves as a Senior Program Officer at the National Democratic Institute.

Personal life Ahmed was born in Somalia. After the start of the civil war in 1991, she and her family emigrated abroad.

Ahmed lived for a period in India. She later studied in Kenya.

Under the aegis of the NDI's Andi Parhamovich Fellowship, Ahmed in 2013 worked for three months in Washington, D.C. She developed a program to equip women with the requisite leadership skills for participation in Somali politics and the post-conflict reconstruction process. Over the course of the fellowship, she also met with U.S. lawmakers and their staff, women's organizations, and the executive director of the Women Legislators of the Maryland General Assembly to learn effective strategies to improve cohesiveness between female MPs and civil society officials, including identifying areas of common concern and forming advocacy coalitions.

In June 2013, Ahmed returned to her NDI Somalia office to begin implementing her program. She is developing a training manual for Somali women MPs on basic government functions and leadership skills. She also hopes to hold workshops for women, and is working on improving equitable access to legislative training opportunities.