大象传媒

Iman Elman is a captain in the Somali National Army leading a team of soldiers liberating towns and villages from the control of the Islamist militant group Al Shabaab. The 24-year-old is unusual as women make up only 7 percent of Somalia's military and very few of them go into combat. Her father Elman Ali Ahmed was a peace activist whose motto was "put down the gun, pick up a pen". She told Matthew Bannister why she decided to join the army.

Image: Somali National Army Captain Iman Elman