Agency

An Open Letter to “Menilikish” Ethiopian Men

Posted by Billene Seyoum on December 14, 2012
Posted in: Agency, Models for Change, Personal Reflections. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 comments

Emperor Menilik II

In a forum I attended early this year, a woman I highly respect and admire, Selome Tadesse, coined the ingenious term “Menilikish Men” in reference to men in our community who are enablers and not hinderers of women’s personal and professional development in the country. She pondered upon what a progressive man Emperor Menilik must have been in that day and age to not stifle the space for Empress Taitu, where she showed generations ahead of her the tenacity and strength with which she existed. Continue Reading

Africa hails its first female Bishop!

Posted by Billene Seyoum on December 13, 2012
Posted in: Advocacy, Agency, Models for Change, Women & Girls. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Bishop Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya (image from http://allafrica.com)

In what i consider another historic milestone for African women, The Anglican Church of Southern Africa consecrated in late November 2012, Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya, making her the first female Bishop in Africa. Although the Southern Africa Anglican Church has been a pioneer in ordaining women into the priesthood, the consecration into the Bishop-hood of Bishop Wamukoya is quite commendable, especially as the mother church of the Anglican denomination suffers controversy. Continue Reading

Agency within Ethiopian sex work: withstanding violence (by Sehin Teferra)

Posted by Billene Seyoum on September 24, 2012
Posted in: Agency. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 comments

Still on the issue of Agency, the following post was originally published on Open Democracy in August 2012. It is re-posted here with the permission of the author, Sehin Teferra, who is not only a frequent guest blogger here, but also one of my favorite Ethiopian feminists. In this enlightening piece, Sehin introduces the agency expressed by sex workers in Addis Ababa and reveals the varying definitions of what violence is and is not as perceived by sex workers.  Continue Reading

A Human Connection : Modern Day Slavery of Ethiopian Women II

Posted by Billene Seyoum on June 23, 2012
Posted in: Advocacy, Agency. Tagged: , , , . 3 comments

In a post from March 2012 here, i discussed the issue of modern day slavery of Ethiopian women in the middle-east and how countries like Indonesia and the Philippines insisted on better wages and conditions for domestic workers going to Saudi Arabia. These demands were followed by a ban as the Saudi Arabian government could not come into agreement on working conditions and pay. Continue Reading