Ethiopian Lawyer Builds Strong Foundation for Women's Rights

By Jane Morse

Although Meaza Ashenafi is a lawyer by profession, her work reflects the spirit of an architect and builder.

She uses her legal skills to design a better life for Ethiopian women, a life that includes freedom from violence, equal rights, and access to education and political participation. She has built a durable foundation for these designs via laws incorporated into the Constitution of Ethiopia. These provisions protect the rights of women and children.

Her deft use of her talents and her lasting commitment to improving the circumstances of Ethiopian women led to her nomination for the 2008 International Women of Courage Award. The award, founded in 2007 by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, celebrates exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and advancement.

U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Yamamoto has called Ashenafi "one of the most respected women in Ethiopia."

In 1986, Ashenafi became the only woman in her class to graduate from Addis Ababa University with a law degree. After completing her studies, she served as a high court judge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city. In 1993, she served as a legal adviser to the Ethiopian Constitution Commission of Ethiopia's transitional government. It was then that she led in drafting the country's constitution to include protections for the rights of women and children.

In an effort to improve the socio-political status of women, Ashenafi founded in 1995 the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan voluntary association dedicated to the promotion of economic, educational, political, social and full legal rights for women. EWLA volunteers provide legal aid services to distressed women.

In recognition of her contributions to Africa and her work at the EWLA, Ashenafi was awarded, in January 2003, the Africa Leadership Prize by the Hunger Project, a global organization with a mission to empower women.

In 2004, she became the executive director of the InterAfrica Group (IAG). The IAG is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan regional organization dedicated to the advancement of humanitarian principles, peace and development across Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa via research, public education and advocacy.

Ashenafi returned to school in 2006 to earn a master's degree and is currently working for the Economic Commission for Africa, a regional arm of the United Nations Economic and Social Council that promotes economic and social development, intraregional integration and international cooperation. Most recently, she has been engaged in organizing political debates.

Ashenafi has come a long way since her birth in the small Ethiopian town of Asossa near the border with Sudan. Her mother, one of eight children, never had the opportunity to receive a formal education. But now, thanks to Ashenafi, Ethiopian women can aspire to great things.

Source: U.S. Department of State

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com