Ethiopian lawmakers on Thursday unanimously elected the nation’s first female president, days after approving one of the world’s few “gender-balanced” Cabinets as the nation’s dramatic reforms continue.
As seasoned diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde assumed the largely ceremonial post, many celebrated Africa’s only current female head of state. The continent’s first female president, former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, left office this year.
“Congratulations, Madam President! Women do make a difference. We are proud of you!” the female president of the UN General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, said in a Twitter post.
“In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future, but also normalizes women as decision-makers in public life,” the chief of staff for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Twitter.
The East African nation long has shown some of the lowest indicators of gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa, UN Women has said.
“Women and girls in Ethiopia are strongly disadvantaged compared to boys and men in several areas, including literacy, health, livelihoods and basic human rights,” it said.
Female genital mutilation continues in some areas, despite the government declaring it illegal, but the new prime minister has clearly decided to include women’s leadership in the sweeping political and economic reforms he has announced in Africa’s second-most populous nation since taking office in April.
Ethiopian lawmakers last week approved a Cabinet with women making up a record 50 percent of ministers, including the nation’s first female defense minister.
A woman also leads the new Ministry of Peace, which oversees the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service and the Federal Police Commission.
The African nation joined a handful of nations, mostly European, where women make up 50 percent or more of ministerial positions, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women.
Likely inspired, Rwanda two days later announced its own Cabinet with 50 percent women.
The nation has received international recognition for female representation in government.
“The African continent is leading the way in showcasing that women’s engagement and leadership are crucial to lasting peace,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter.
Sahle-Work called Ethiopia’s recent transfer of power to Abiy after months of anti-government protests demanding wider freedoms “exemplary.”
The ruling coalition that has led the nation since 1991 and with allied parties holds every seat in parliament agreed earlier this month to have Abiy lead the party until its next congress, a vote of confidence in the reforms.
The new president said she would focus on bringing together all sides to achieve peace in a nation where multiple ethnic-based conflicts have simmered in recent months as political dialogue opens up.
Sahle-Work has worked in various UN organs and was the first director-general of the UN office in Nairobi.
Until recently she was the UN secretary-general’s special representative to the African Union.
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