Africa-Press-Ethiopia<\/p>\n
One of the world\u2019s most courageous people of 2021 has to be Ethiopia\u2019s departing minister for women. On Monday, Filsan Abdullahi Ahmed resigned her post after trying to end the use of rape as a weapon of war in Ethiopia\u2019s 11-month internal conflict. Her own government\u2019s forces, along with rebel fighters in the Tigray region and soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, are accused by the United Nations and others of mass sexual violence against innocent civilians.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny situation that compromises my ethics is contrary to my convictions and values, and betraying these beliefs is a breach of trust to myself and our citizens,\u201d she said in her resignation notice.<\/p>\n
Last February, she boldly confirmed that rape was \u201cundoubtedly\u201d being committed in Tigray, the first official confirmation of such crimes. She then pressured Ethiopia\u2019s attorney general to deliver justice. In April, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed admitted that sexual assault had become a key tactic in the war. By May, the attorney general said three soldiers had been convicted and sentenced for rape and another 25 had been charged.<\/p>\n
But not much has been done since, perhaps the main reason for her resignation. In addition, the United States has become alarmed at the violence and humanitarian disaster in Ethiopia. On Sept. 18, President Joe Biden ordered sanctions to be imposed on Ethiopian officials if they don\u2019t move to end the war. \u201cI am shocked by reports of massacres, rapes and sexual assaults,\u201d the president said in a statement. On Sept. 24, the U.S. House passed legislation that would force the administration to determine whether Ethiopia\u2019s and Eritrea\u2019s actions in the Tigray region constitute genocide.<\/p>\n
Ms. Filsan was appointed as minister for women, children, and youth in 2020 because of her campaign for reconciliation among the country\u2019s more than 90 ethnic groups. With a population of roughly 110 million, African\u2019s second most populous country has a long history of civil strife.<\/p>\n
She is founder of the Nabad Project (nabad means peace), which uses volunteers \u2013 dubbed peace engineers \u2013 to bring different ethnic groups together for community-level dialogue to unify Ethiopia, as she said in 2019 to the Addis Standard magazine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started … the Nabad Project to show Ethiopians that a Somali young female can actually bring the love, harmony, and prosperity among them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n