# Hawo Tako (Xaawo Taako)

> Hawo Tako (Xaawo Taako), the Somali Youth League member who died in Mogadishu in January 1948 and is remembered as a national heroine.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/hawo-tako/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who was she?

Hawo Tako, in Somali Xaawo Taako, was a member of the [Somali Youth League](/en/history/somali-youth-league/). She died after the unrest in Mogadishu in January 1948, during the visit of the Four-Power Commission ([Castagno, *Historical Dictionary of Somalia*, 1975, "Hawa Osman Tako"](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). She is regarded as a national heroine (same source). Her name is on streets and institutions, and a monument to her stands in Mogadishu ([Somali Architecture, "Xaawo Taako"](https://www.somaliarchitecture.com/project/xaawo-taako)).

## Where she came from

The sources do not agree on her birth. Wikipedia gives 1925 and names Kebri Beyah, in today's Somali Region of Ethiopia ([Wikipedia, Hawo Tako](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawo_Tako)). The Somali Architecture archive says she was born in the 1920s in southern Somalia ([Somali Architecture](https://www.somaliarchitecture.com/project/xaawo-taako)). Her other name, Hawa Osman, gives her father's name, Osman.

## What happened in January 1948

After the Second World War, the four powers (Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union) had to decide the future of Italy's former colonies. They sent a commission to Mogadishu in January 1948 to hear what Somalis wanted ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).

On 11 January 1948 a large demonstration took place in Mogadishu ([Somali Architecture](https://www.somaliarchitecture.com/project/xaawo-taako)). Fighting broke out in the city. Hawo Tako was badly hurt and died ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).

Accounts of her death differ:
- Castagno's dictionary records that "it is said that she was killed by an arrow" ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)).
- The Somali Architecture archive says she was badly injured and died a few days later ([Somali Architecture](https://www.somaliarchitecture.com/project/xaawo-taako)).
- [Goobjoog](/en/economy/somali-media-companies/) News says she led Youth League members from the party's headquarters to protect the rally, and died in the clashes ([Goobjoog News, 11 Jan 2016](https://en.goobjoog.com/somalia-like-this-day-in-1948-somalia-popular-freedom-fighter-hawa-tako-killed)).
- Wikipedia notes that some sources say she died trying to protect others in the violence ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawo_Tako)).

## How Somalis remember her

In 1971 a monument to her was put up in front of the [Somali National Theatre](/en/society/national-theatre-of-somalia/) in Mogadishu ([Castagno 1975](https://archive.org/details/historical-dictionary-of-somalia-1)). It stands beside the theatre and the National Museum ([Somali Architecture](https://www.somaliarchitecture.com/project/xaawo-taako)). The Somali Women's Democratic Organization, set up in 1977, was founded in her memory ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawo_Tako)). Her picture has appeared on banners and banknotes ([Goobjoog News](https://en.goobjoog.com/somalia-like-this-day-in-1948-somalia-popular-freedom-fighter-hawa-tako-killed)).

## In short

A member of the freedom movement killed in Mogadishu in 1948, twelve years before independence.

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