Iman Ahmed Abdikarin was born in Italy on 12 May 1997 and returned to Mogadishu, Somalia in 1999. However, the situation in Mogadishu at the time was dire due to the chaos and violence that had plagued the country since the collapse of its central government in 1991. The civil war, which began with the ousting of President Siad Barre, created a power vacuum and intense clan-based warfare. The country was divided into various fiefdoms controlled by warlords, with no effective central authority to govern. Civilians, like Iman and her mother, faced constant threats to their safety, including bombings, gunfights, and looting.