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Jordan Allen

Mr. Phillips

AP Language

14 December 2018

The Impact of a Woman

Women are taking over the world, and Sahle-Work Zewde's election is just another

example of the empowerment of women. Though Ethiopia is not known for its gender equality,

times are changing and so is the country. She is not the only one wanting change, others are

getting involved, for example, the new Prime Minister, who is not holding back on changing the

outdated social patriarchies and gender roles. The country’s government is mostly ran by men

and majority of the high profile jobs are not going to women. Sahle-Work Zewde, the new

president of Ethiopia, is enhancing women's rights in the fight for gender equality, and her role is

bringing forth new changes to government and is influencing women to take on higher class

positions in the most powerful way.

Ethiopian government is different from the democracy in the United States; their

system includes a Prime Minister and a President. The Prime Minister runs the show and most of

the power rests in their hands. A new Prime Minister was also recently elected, Abiy Ahmed; the

President is solely ceremonial and their position is for social importance (Schemm). In the recent

months, the parliament elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the first female president of Ethiopia, after

the sudden resignation of the last President. Throughout Ethiopian history, Ahmed has described

their state to be "patriarchal" and "conservative,” but has announced his plans to advocate for

women (Schemm). Although Zewde is making changes, Ahmed is keeping his promise to fight
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for women when he made half the cabinet female (Winsor).These mass changes are shifting the

gender roles, expectations, and politics in Ethiopia.

President Sahle-Work Zewde and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed both have similar goals in

mind: achieving gender equality making women's rights spread throughout Ethiopia. Ahmed's

role of changing the cabinet to becoming gender equal shows women can lead (Allo). While the

Prime Minister is making his changes, Sahle-Work is building off of Ahmed to make her

changes and demonstrate her significance; Zewde is striving for a sense of unity with in the

cabinet (Atoma). This sense of unity will bring forth her ideas of building a society that does not

put down women (Schemm). With the team work built in Abiy and Sahle-Work's relationship,

the fight to end gender inequality will become stronger and have a longer lasting impact.

Prior to becoming president of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde had other skills up her

sleeve that made her a considerable candidate for this position, being heavily involved in the

United Nations assists her title and purpose for presidency. Some of Zewde's work with the

United Nations included being their head of peace building in the Central African Republic and

being the United Nations representative at the African Union (Atoma). When we see all this

work she has accomplished and put forth, it demonstrates her importance and purpose of striving

for gender equality. Her work illustrates, and is an excellent example, that women do not have to

be a man to succeed in the world they live in. As Selam Musse said-- a gender and media expert

in Ethiopia-- the significance of her election "speaks volumes for women" (Ahmed and Freytas-

Tamura). Zewde's success in African politics paves the way and accelerates women's equality in

Ethiopia. Her involvement in a worldwide organization sets an example that women can and

should lead in our society (Allo).

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Women's rights in Ethiopia are, for the most part, non-existent. Throughout Africa,--

more specifically, rural Ethiopia-- women do not have various rights (Schemm). This attitude is

perfectly portrayed in the book Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. Though the novel is set in

Nigeria, it captures the horrific and terrifying treatment of women and young girls. In families

throughout Africa, the man rules the "household with a heavy hand" (12). But in their culture,

they also see that a man must be able "to rule his women,” and if he cannot, then he is not a man

(53). The culture, from the beginning, was not women friendly and automatically painted women

as inferior, but with the changes that women are slowly coming into the social and political light,

is a huge step for women's rights in the country.

Salhe-Work is working to continuously fight for gender equality because throughout

Ethiopia there is a lot of criticism behind being a woman. According to the UN ranking on

gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopia is toward the bottom (Schemm). Her presidency

does not encourage the extreme and violent behaviors toward women, but they are not seen to be

capable enough to hold leadership roles in rural areas (Schemm). The power women have

throughout the country is limited. The forceful placement of women in society and the

importance of male privilege are derived from the patriarchal standards in Ethiopia (Allo). When

girls grow up and become women they are told what to be and are told to not ask questions, but

the power that Zewde and the cabinet have is showing young girls and these women that they do

not have to be what society tells them to be. Sahle-Work stressed in her speech to parliament that

she wants to create a society that "rejects the oppression of women" (Schemm). These points of

view have to do a great deal with their culture that has been around since their start and left this

lasting impact on Ethiopians. But how does this impact of culture change women's rights?
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This culture has much control and restraint over women, it greatly influences and

reflects the actions of citizens in their own society. The culture in Ethiopia makes women objects

and paints their purpose for being in a degrading way (Allo). Throughout society, women are

degraded by language and actions without a second thought, but religion has had an impact on

this culture. In an Oromo proverb it states that "a women can be tall but not in knowledge"; in an

Amharic proverb it states that "A woman does not know anything, but gives birth to a

knowledgeable child" (Allo). Amharic and Afaan Oromo-- language of Oromo’s-- are two of the

most widely used languages in Ethiopia. In America, these statement are equivalent to such

things such as telling a women to go to the kitchen or to make a sandwich. These religious

proverbs are so deeply rooted within culture that the culture is the reason for the ill treatment of

women.

There are people who are so focused on gender roles that they believe that women do

not belong in these higher powers and should not be included in politics. This culture that

includes these acts of violence against women also teaches women to keep these experiences to

themselves then not speak out about them (Allo). With women becoming a part of government

and working for equality, this could lead to be problematic for individuals who surround

themselves in outdated cultural and societal standards. People throughout rural areas-- mostly

men-- would have issues with a woman being president but for the most part, women all over the

country are supporting Sahle-Work and so are women all over the world.

A greater involvement of women everywhere into higher positions would normalize

women in power and strengthen the gender equal movement. This "cemented shift" in the

Ethiopian government will hopefully encourage other nations to elect women into power

(“Ethiopia Appoints First Female President Sahle-Work Zewde”). This "cemented shift" will
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empower more young girls and women to take control and reach their potential. Another

fundamental desire of the inclusion of women is to push for the uprise of women within ‘not

female-like’ jobs and to motivate others to become more involved.

Zewde's stage is used to set forth the idea that women can be a part of power and are

not inferior to anyone. Her role as president carries "immense symbolic weight" (Longo). This

"symbolic weight" placed on her position is because of the fact that she is currently the only

female head of state on the African continent (Longo). Zewde's platform will change Ethiopia in

following years as women become thought of in times of election. This will allow for more

diversity within the Ethiopian government and bring forth more ideas, future changes, and

influence the future community life.

Along with Zewde's presidency, many other women are also obtaining high power. A

woman is in charge of the Ministry of Peace in Ethiopia-- the country’s most powerful branch

(Schemm). Within the “patriarchal society” of Ethiopia, Fitsum Arega said that women being put

into higher power, mostly referring to Sahle-Work’s election, “normalizes women as decision-

makers in public life” (“Ethiopia Appoints First Female President Sahle-Work Zewde.”). This

goes to show the support people have for the inclusion of women and the power that it can have

within normal areas of society.

Sahle-Work Zewde, president of Ethiopia, is leaving her mark on Ethiopian

government and in the fight for gender equality. With help from her peers, the government is

proving that the fight for gender equality, when made by both men and women, can "sustain its

momentum" and lead to a world without "religious, ethnic, and gender discrimination" (Jazeera).

Zewde's and the Prime Minister's, Abiy Ahmed, efforts prove that for there to be a change, there

must be a massive shift; this will catch the attention of others and cause a domino effect of
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reforming. Sahle-Work's influence, along with many other women, are causing a chain reaction

of change for women's rights throughout Ethiopia, but also setting a wonderful example for

women around the world.

Work Cited:

ACHEBE, CHINUA. THINGS FALL APART. PENGUIN BOOKS, 2018.

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Ahmed, Hadra, and Kimiko De Freytas-Tamura. “Ethiopia Appoints Its First Female President.”

The Independent, 26 Oct. 2018, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/ethiopia-

president-sahle-work-zewde-female-woman-gender-equality-feminism-a8602566.html.

Accessed 5 Dec. 2018

Al Jazeera. “Sahle-Work Zewde Named Ethiopia's First Female President.” GCC News | Al

Jazeera, 25 Oct. 2018, www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/sahle-work-zewde-named-

ethiopia-woman-president-181025084046138.html. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018

Allo, Awol K. “The Power of Ethiopia's Gender-Balanced Cabinet.” GCC News | Al Jazeera, 19

Oct. 2018, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/power-ethiopia-gender-balanced-cabinet-

181019110930577.html. Accessed 5 Dec. 2018

Atoma, Bekele. “Sahle-Work Zewde Becomes Ethiopia's First Female President.” BBC News, 25

Oct. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45976620. Accessed 3 Dec. 2018

Longo, Steve. “Ethiopia's First Female President Sahle-Work Zewde: All You Need to Know.”

Daily Mail , 29 Oct. 2018, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6321213/Ethiopias-female-

president-Sahle-Work-Zewde-need-know.html. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018

Reuters. “Ethiopia Appoints First Female President Sahle-Work Zewde.” NBC News, 25 Oct.

2018, www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/ethiopia-appoints-first-female-president-sahle-

work-zewde-n924406. Accessed 3 Dec. 2018

Schemm, Paul. “Ethiopia Appoints First Female President in Its Modern History in Latest

Reform.” The Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2018,

www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ethiopia-appoints-first-female-president-in-its-
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modern-history-in-latest-reform/2018/10/25/3514d3a4-d82b-11e8-a10f-

b51546b10756_story.html?utm_term=.c48eadbdda0b. Accessed 5 Dec 2018

Schemm, Paul. “Will Ethiopia's Reforms Include Its Women?” The Washington Post, WP

Company, 10 Dec. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/will-ethiopias-reforms-

include-its-women/2018/12/09/934a1d14-edb4-11e8-8b47-

bd0975fd6199_story.html?utm_term=.e27af03194d1.

Winsor, Morgan. “Ethiopia Appoints 1st Woman President, after Approving Gender-Balanced

Cabinet.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 25 Oct. 2018,

abcnews.go.com/International/ethiopia-appoints-1st-woman-president-approving-gender-

balanced/story?id=58741941. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018