&#;My goal is to eradicate all forms of discrimination against women and to ensure equal opportunities for women in education, employment and public spheres.&#;
Meaza Ashenafi, born in , was a high court judge in Ethiopia between and In she became a legal advisor to the Ethiopian Constitution Commission. In , she participated in founding the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) and became its executive directress. Through her work as a lawyer she represented thousands of women clients in courts. She is dedicated to vocalizing the needs of misfortunate women under the social and economic structures. She utilizes her extensive legal background to lobby for the amendment of the constitutional laws against women in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is the largest country in the Horn of Africa in terms of population and second largest in terms of size. The infrastructure is extremely poor, particularly in rural areas. Ethiopian society remains highly patriarchal against womens participation in most spheres and in obvious violation of the provisions of the national constitution. From government oppression to outright violence, civil society organizations face extreme challenges in their wor
Meaza Ashenafi, Chief Justice of Ethiopia
The first female federal Chief Justice of Ethiopia and IVLP alumna, Meaza Ashenafi spent her lifetime breaking barriers through her contributions in the legal field.
She strives to promote and advocate for human rights and women's issues. Ashenafi looks forward to restoring public trust in the judiciary and ensuring judicial independence.
Co-founder of Enat Bank, the first bank targeted to women's economic empowerment, Ashenafi is dedicated to vocalizing the needs of marginalized women. She founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association to provide pro-bono services to women unable to afford a legal defense, created a word in Amharic to describe sexual harassment, and reformed the way the Ethiopian judicial system treats sexual harassment cases. Ashenafi is changing women's lives and inspiring the next generation of female lawyers.
Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu ( )
Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu, a human rights activist, broke barriers in Ethiopia when, in , she became the first woman to hold the position of President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia. Mengistu was born on July 25, , in the Asosa Zone of Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, to Ashenafi Mengistu, former city mayor, and Askalech Tegegne. Meaza has eight siblings.
In , at age 17, Mengistu enrolled in the Faculty of Law at Addis Ababa University. She was the only woman in the class of fifty students and earned a Bachelor of Law degree in From to , she worked for the Ministry of Trade. Afterward, she became a Federal High Court Criminal Bench Judge and remained there until
In , Mengistu co-founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers&#; Association (EWLA) to provide legal defense to women who couldn&#;t afford it. Her transformative leadership as the Executive Director for eight years was instrumental in propelling the cause of gender equality in Ethiopia.
In , Mengistu served as the attorney in the high-profile case of a year-old girl who was en route home from school when she was abducted by a posse of men seeking to procure a bride for a would-be husba
PIONEER AFRICAN WOMEN IN LAW
Meaza Ashenafi
First Woman Chief Justice (Ethiopia)
By Biruh Gemeda Gage
Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu is the first woman in Ethiopian history to become the President of the Federal Supreme Court (Chief Justice). However, this milestone is not the only accomplishment that makes her a pioneer woman in law. She is well-known as a women’s rights advocate who has made immense contributions, among other things, as the co-founder of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association (EWLA) and founder of women’s bank (Enat Bank). Both organizations were the first of their kind in Ethiopia.
Meaza was born on the 25th of July in a small town called Assosa, now the capital of Benishangul-Gumuz regional state, one of the smallest and least developed regions in Ethiopia. Her father Ashenafi Mengistu was the mayor of Assosa. Hence, Meaza and her eight siblings attended primary and secondary school there. Her mother, Askalech Tegegne, worked at home managing a household of about a dozen people and raising nine children. Meaza says her mother is the source of her strength and played a big role in her success by instilling important values like honesty and fairness
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