Are competing parties emulating government’s lessons?
Since Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed took office, women’s participation in politics and decisionmaking has received significant attention in Ethiopia.
The highest positions like President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Election Board Chairperson and President of the Supreme Court are given to capable women by the leadership of the reformist administration.
Similarly, he also gave the higher political position to the women and has even made 50 percent of the cabinet members to be women. He as well set the examples for all the States in the country to increase women assignment in higher political positions in which Oromia State took the lead.
This measure should be evaluated in two ways. First, it indicates that the Premier wants to empower women and he also knows that women are naturally gifted in leadership and hospitable to every human kind to care for them which is needed in democratizing a nation. Secondly, it demonstrates that the Prime Minister has decided to fight corruption as the percentage of women’s participation in corruption is less when compared to that of men’s. Due to this the country would be benefited and save billions of dollars that the country has lost prior to his coming to office.
Active political engagement includes voting, standing for office, joining political party or taking part in political campaigns and exerting influence in the decision making processes through public debate and dialogue or exercising public power by holding public office at different levels of administrations- local, regional, national and international, documents show. In the previous political arena, Ethiopian women had been excluded from public sphere for a long period, especially from politics. In view of the fact that political participation increases gender equality and empowerment by promoting women’s direct engagement in public decisionmaking, their involvement is very important.
Ethiopia National Transition Council Party founder and Chairperson Seleshi Telahun said, “When we founded this party, our deputy chairperson was woman and also there are two women in another high position, so we support the woman participation and we believe they are successful in every positions but it depends on their capacity.” Women have to come to the front and show their capacity without any pressure. In the same way, Teshale Sebro, President of Ethiopia Vision Party (EVP) said, “Like other critical issues, we have to work on woman participation as women’s participation is low in competing political parties like EVP.”
Even though Ethiopian women are less interested in politics in general due the domestic burdens and political stigmatizations, political parties have to follow the footsteps of the Prime Minister. Therefore, all the concerned politicians and communities have to bring women forward in all aspects of leadership, be it local committee or political affair. And the political leaders have to be committed to enhance women involvements understanding their innate leading capacity and truthfulness.
Herald January 11/2019
BY BETHLEHEM ASFAW
