Ethiopia's Woman President Sahle-Work Zewde Joins Progressive PM Abiy Ahmed To Level Gender Playing Field

Ethiopia's Woman President Sahle-Work Zewde Joins Progressive PM Abiy Ahmed To Level Gender Playing Field

By Yohannes Gedamu, Lecturer of Political Science, Georgia Gwinnett College; originally published on The Conversation Africa

Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took over from Hailemariam Desalegn in April 2018, Ethiopia has experienced a rapid pace of political reforms. So far, save for the unfortunate incidents of ethnic violenceacross the country, the changes made by the new administration have been nothing short of breathtaking.

Under Abiy’s leadership, a historic peace deal was reached with neighbouring Eritrea. At home, his administration has freed all political prisoners while also promising to reform some of the country’s harsh laws.

In addition, the new premier has also vowed to transform the country’s state-led economy by outlining a proposal for the partial privatisation of Ethiopia’s state enterprises. Privatisation would open up opportunities for competition, and raise funds for the country’s major development programs.

Most recently Abiy’s ongoing political reforms have included the recognition of Ethiopia’s female leaders. He has taken great strides to ensure that woman are represented in Ethiopia’s political landscape. The last four weeks in particular have seen spectacular breakthroughs. These ranged from cabinet appointments to women being chosen as president, chief justice and press secretary to the prime minister. All unprecedented – in Ethiopia as well as the continent more broadly.

Tony Gum Creates 'Mercurial Aesthetic' Free of Racial, Cultural Or Sexual Oppression

Tony Gum Creates 'Mercurial Aesthetic' Free of Racial, Cultural Or Sexual Oppression

Women artists were more obvious in this year's Art Basel in Miami, and especially at PULSE Miami Beach.

At Christopher Moller Gallery, young Capetown artist Tony Gum, born Zipho Gum, was such a smash in New York March 2016 and then Art Basel Miami December 2016, that she was just named in ArtNet's 14 Emerging Women Artists to Watch in 2017.

Vogue called Tony Gum "the coolest girl in Cape Town", based on her tightly curated Instagram feed. Her Instagram becomes a gallery to communicate with corporate brands like Coca-Cola and Adidas about issues of race, women, pop culture and art through the lens of her own penetrating, clear-eyed, articulate and sophisticated vision.

Status Update On Global Drive For Clean Cookstoves In Developing Countries

Status Update On Global Drive For Clean Cookstoves In Developing Countries

Women's News | Nigerian Girls Receive Hostile Homecoming | Christine Lagarde Takes 2nd IMF Term

Women's News | Nigerian Girls Receive Hostile Homecoming | Christine Lagarde Takes 2nd IMF Term

Memory Banda TED Talks Against Child Marriage & Malawi's Sexual Initiation Camps

Memory Banda TED Talks Against Child Marriage & Malawi’s Sexual Initiation Camps

Watching several TED Talks yesterday, the subject of Malawi’s child brides surfaced again in the passionate TED Woman2015 talk given by Malawi’s Memory Banda. Memory became an organizer in support of the new law against child marriage, and she also introduced me to the topic of ‘initiation camps’. Banda’s sister, who has three children and two failed marriages at age 16, was sent to an ‘initiation camp’ at age 11.

Watch more TEDWoman 2015 presentations.

Hillary Clinton's CNN Brianna Keilar Interview | Women Leaders At Aspen Institute | Women's Soccer $$$ Discriminate | 300 Child Brides Freed In Malawi

Hillary Clinton’s CNN Brianna Keilar Interview | Women Leaders At Aspen Institute |
Women’s Soccer $$$ Discriminate | 300 Child Brides Freed In Malawi  AOC Sensual Rebel

Anne is reading …

1. After a disastrous Independence Day photo op gone wrong, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will give her first national TV interview since announcing her presidential candidacy in April.

CNN will air the interview conducted by Brianna Keilar today Tuesday July 7th. Relations between Hillary Clinton and the national press have always been strained, but they reached new levels of strain on Saturday, when Clinton aides literally herded reporters through the streets of Gorham, NH’s Fourth of July parade.

2. America’s women’s soccer team returned home from Vancouver victorious as world champions but seriously underpaid.

3. The Aspen Institute shares great ideas from women who lead, in an exciting presentation of 3-4 minute personal challenges from their recent Aspen Ideas Festival.

4. In Malawi, senior Chief Inkosi Kachindamoto, a woman, annulled over 300 child marriages, saying that for both boys and girls, children should be in school.

5. Writing for Forbes, Carrie Rich of YEC Women, says that ‘Creating Change For Female Leaders Starts With Individual Support’.

Angelina Jolie's Rousing Feminist Speech For Women In South Africa

Angelina Jolie’s Rousing Feminist Speech For Women In South Africa

On June 11, Angelina Jolie spoke in her role as special envoy to UNHCR at the biannual African Union Summit in Johannesburg. The theme of this year’s summit was the ‘Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development’. Read on.

Stand #WithStrongGirls Because Poverty Is Sexist

Join the campaign, stand with over 6 million strong girls supporters everywhere: http://one.org. 

ONEinAfrica Facebook

ONEinAfrica Twitter

We’ve joined forces with 9 of Africa’s most talented artists to create a new anthem that celebrates the power of girls and women everywhere.

This song is a call to action for you to put pressure on your leader to empower girls and women in the poorest countries, so that they can lift their own communities out of poverty.

‘Strong Girl’ features vocalists Waje (Nigeria), Victoria Kimani (Kenya), Vanessa Mdee (Tanzania), Arielle T (Gabon), Gabriela (Mozambique), Yemi Alade (Nigeria), Selmor Mtukudzi (Zimbabwe), Judith Sephuma (South Africa), new talent Blessing Nwafor (South Africa) and the video stars Omotola Jalade Ekeinde (Nigeria). 

Afghan Rapper Sonita Alizadeh Fights Against Child Brides From Wasatch Academy Utah

Afghan Rapper Sonita Alizadeh Fights Against Child Brides From Wasatch Academy Utah

Sonita Alizadeh is a young Afghan woman who had the audacity to resist being married off at age 15. Alizadeh’s family was forced to move to Iran when she was eight years old. As an undocumented Afghan, she was not entitled to be educated in Iran, leaving her to work as a janitor at a charity that supported Afghan children in her situation. We tell her incredible story in Sensual Rebel, but Sonita’s famous rap must be front page news.

Sonita … brides for sale

Eunice Akoth From The Kibera School For Girls Inspires At NYC Women in the World Conference

Eunice Akoth From The Kibera School For Girls Inspires At NYC Women in the World Conference

Close To Meeting Goal Of 600 Women Teachers In Burkina Faso, Toni Garrn Heads Soon For Zimbabwe With Plan International

Close To Meeting Goal Of 600 Women Teachers In Burkina Faso, Toni Garrn Heads Soon For Zimbabwe With Plan International

Previously: Toni Garrn for Closed Denim Jeans - #youandmegirl Campaign In Burkina Faso

Mari Malek & Friends By Cliff Watts Stand For Girls In South Sudan

Mari Malek & Friends By Cliff Watts Stand For Girls In South SudanAOC Sensual Rebel

In this series of images by Cliff Watts, Mari Malek is joined by South Sudan sisters Mari Agory, Grace Bol, Rina Kara, Elizabeth Arjok, Nyamouch Girwath, and Nykhor Paul in a visual exploration of their South Sudanese roots, beauty and traditions. The images support Stand 4 Education, the foundation of Mari Malek, in support of educating girls in South Sudan.

Mari Malek by Cliff Watts

Empowering Women With Loans To Dig Wells & Create Local Water Supply

Empowering Women With Loans To Dig Wells & Create Local Water Supply

Madonna's buildOn Alliance Bears Fruit In Malawi

Madonna’s buildOn Alliance Bears Fruit In Malawi

“Because of Madonna and Raising Malawi’s support, we will be able to build schools for children that the rest of the world has left behind.  Generations of children will have access to education and be empowered to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations,” said Jim Ziolkowski, Founder and CEO of buildOn, in his own comments around the collaboration.

Severe New Challenges To Future Of India's Elephants

Severe New Challenges To Future Of India’s Elephants

Recognized by its smaller size and significantly smaller ears, Indian elephants aren’t poached for ivory in the same numbers as in Africa, because only the male Indian elephants has tusks. Nevertheless, the expanding Asian middle class is fueling the demand for killing Indian elephants, too, resulting in a severely skewed sex ratio that impacts breeding rates for the species.

In a 2010 Independent UK article, the drastic gender gap was estimated to be just one male elephant for 100 females.

Just Why Does the Rape Of Women & Children Worldwide Continue?

Just Why Does the Rape Of Women & Children Worldwide Continue?

In Kenya, One Woman's 'Good Life' Is Irrationally Hacked to Bits

In Kenya, One Woman’s ‘Good Life’ Is Irrationally Hacked to Bits

Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner In Death Reminds Us: Be A Hummingbird

Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner In Death Reminds Us: Be A Hummingbird

Kenyan environmentalist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai died late Sunday from cancer. At 71, Mrs Maathai was one of the most widely respected women in Africa, wearing many hats as an environmentalist, feminist, politician, rabble-rouser, human rights advocate and head of the Green Belt Movement.

'The Places We Live': Four Monumental Slums Typify 'Home' for More Than One Billion People

‘The Places We Live’: Four Monumental Slums Typify ‘Home’ for More Than One Billion People

In 2008, for the first time in human history, more people lived in cities than in rural areas. One-third of these urban dwellers—more than one billion people—resided in slums. That number is expected to rise substantially: the United Nations forecasts that the number of slum dwellers will double to two billion people within the next 25 years. Poverty is urbanizing at breakneck speed, and there are few overarching plans to address how cities can accommodate this rapid influx of humans.