International Women’s Day – 08 March 2016

Powerful and influential women are part of every country’s history, and Ethiopia is no exception. Empress Taytu Betul, was arguably Ethiopia’s most influential women in modern times. She was more than a match for her husband, Menelik II, the renowned commander and military strategist. Historians have drawn attention to the key role she played in the famous Battle of Adwa, where she advised sending 30,000 troops led by Ras Mekonnen between the two Italian positions, causing a division among the colonialists and turning the battle. She also organized thousands of women to strengthen the defence line by supplying water and aiding the wounded.

Plenty of women in Ethiopia today are following in the Empress’ footsteps, albeit in different ways. Abebech Gobena, the philanthropist and founder of Abebech Gobena Yehetsanat Kebekabena Limat Mahiber (AGOHELMA), one of the oldest orphanages in Ethiopia, has often been called the Mother Teresa of Africa. Betelhem Tilahun, Ethiopian entrepreneur and the founder of SoleRebels, grew up in a relatively poor area on the outskirts of Addis. Her footwear brand is now hailed by pundits as Africa’s answer to brands such as Nike, Reebok and Adidas.  Then there’s Dr Eleni GebreMedin, founder of the first commodity exchange market in Ethiopia, and Mulu Solomon the first women president of Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce. The list would take up more than a dozen blogs, and I’m looking forward to getting to know many of these women during my time here.

The role that women and girls can play in economic growth is extraordinary. SmartEconomics, research supported by GirlHub, shows that educating all of Ethiopia’s girls could add $4billion to the economy, http://ow.ly/ZcMIh. I am proud that  DFID Ethiopia has helped get 2.7million more children into primary and secondary school, half of whom are girls.

To mark the International Women’s Day, the Embassy and the British Council will shortly be organising an event to screen ‘Suffragette’, a 2015 historical period drama about the struggle to get the vote for women in Britain in the late-19th and early-20th century. Thankfully a lot more women around the world are able to participate in the political process today. But the barriers to full equality remain. The struggle continues…