Fauzia Haji Adan was sworn in on Monday November 19, 2012, as the Somali Federal Republic’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, making history as Somalia’s first woman to hold those posts. Another Somali woman, Maryan Qassim, was also sworn in as the minister for social services. But only a policy of sustained affirmative action can address ingrained structural imbalances against Somali women; one or two cabinet appointments won’t cut it.