Passion or Profession: Writer

Period: 1945–

Farah was born in Somalia when the country was under British control. He studied in India and lived in England for a time before writing his major novels. His works, written in English, focus on the lack of women’s rights in Somalia. For these works, Farah was forced into exile during the 1970s, but his novels have gained international acclaim and drawn attention to political and women’s issues in Somalia.