Last week the Africa’s Women’s day was celebrated by remembering the most influential African black women. From them most influential African women Taytu Betul is among the one. The Battle of Adwa is known to have stopped the colonial aggression of Europeans in Africa after Ethiopian forces surprised the world by defeating heavily armed Italian troops that attempted to conquer the Empire in 1896. Behind this victory that maintained Ethiopia as the only African nation that was never colonized, lies a brilliant military strategist named Empress Taytu Betul.
According to various journals, Taytu was a loyal and respectful wife of Menelik II to whom she married in 1883 when he was still King of Shewa. Their marriage was beyond romance as it was believed to be a political marriage aiming to seal alliances with the northern regions where Taytu’s family held important positions.
Having been born into an aristocratic Ethiopian family related to the Solomonic dynasty, Taytu was educated, which was exceptional for an Ethiopian woman of that time. She could read and write Amharic, and fluently spoke Ge’ez, the language of the sacred texts handed down over centuries in one of the world’s oldest Christian nations.
With Menelik’s ascent to imperial throne, Taytu became empress of Ethiopia in 1889, and in that capacity became a valuable advisor to him. He would consult her prior to making important decisions and due to her intelligence and loyalty for the throne and her country; he endorsed her views and proposals in administrative, political, military as well as foreign affairs.
Determined to protect her country and husband’s interests, she went on to play a key role in the conflict over the 1889 bilingual Treaty of Wuchale which did not say the same thing in Italian and Amharic; the Amharic version recognized the sovereignty of Ethiopia and its relationship with Italy as just a diplomatic partnership, while the Italian version made Ethiopia Italy’s protectorate.
When that deception in the treaty was discovered by a councilor to the Emperor, Taytu tore up the treaty and pushed the Emperor to declare war against Italy. She declared that she preferred war to accepting protectorate status for Ethiopia as provided for in the Italian version of Article 17.
Her stance against the Italians earned her the title of a ‘stubborn woman’ because not only did she put pressure on her husband not to make any concessions to Italy, but she insisted that no diplomatic courtesies should be accorded to the Italians in any diplomatic correspondence with them.
When an Italian diplomat in Ethiopia cautioned that the annulment of the treaty might cause Italy to lose its “dignity”, the empress replied: “We too must retain our dignity…you want other countries to see Ethiopia as your protégé, but that would never be.”
Menelik’s declaration of war did not shock the Italians as they fatally underestimated the Ethiopians, and Italian victory was considered a foregone conclusion in Europe and elsewhere. Convinced that they would face pushovers on the battlefield, the Italian army invaded the Empire from Eritrea.
Taytu made a remarkable contribution to the war effort when she proposed to besiege the Italian fort at Mekele by controlling their water supply which was approved by the Emperor. Although it was not easy to convince the Ethiopian soldiers that controlling the water source would be a more effective tactic than attacking the fort,
900 men from the Empress’s contingent went on to execute her plan.
Throughout the assault on the Italian troops, Taytu was on the frontline in the battlefield commanding her own contingent of about 5000 infantry and 600 mounted troops.
As the top lady in the Empire, Taytu kept exercising great power and when the emperor’s health weakened in around 1906, she began to make decisions on his behalf. She later faded from the political scene until her death in 1918.
Derartu Tulu was the 1st African Woman to win an Olympic gold. The day that Derartu Tulu won the women’s 10000 meters race in Barcelona 1992 draping the Ethiopian flag across her shoulders was the historic day when the first black African woman won a gold medal.
Derartu was born in 1969 in the village of Bokoji in the Arsi region of central Ethiopia as a seventh child in a family of 10 children. Even in elementary school, Derartu excelled in horse riding competitions. Derartu’s first significant win came in a 400 meter race in her school where she out-run the school’s start male athlete. That along with a win in 800 meters race in her district convincingly put Derartu in a path of a successful career in Athletics. In 1988, Derartu represented the region of Arsi and competed in a national 1500 meters race where she won a bronze medal.
When she was 17, Derartu was hired by the Ethiopian Police Force. In 1989, she competed in her first international race of 6 kilometer cross-country in Norway but was 23rd. In a year’s time, though, she competed in the same race and won the Gold Medal. Derartu won international recognition and success in the 90’s. Her record-setting win in the 10,000 meter race in Bulgaria and her win in the same distance race in Cairo, Egypt are worth mentioning.
Derartu’s win in the 10,000 meter race in the Barcelona Olympics goes down in the History Books as the first gold-medal win ever by an African woman. Derartu had continued winning races and bringing, the gold, silver and bronze medals to her people and country. In her short but on-going career, she had managed to win 35 gold, 12 silver and 15 bronze medals.
The other strong and civil rights activist is Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou was considered very magnificent in every career she had. From a dancer and an actress to a journalist and a civil right activist, she represented blacks and their exigency for equality through her writing and many skills. Maya Angelou’s performance next to significant figures, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X modeled a principled and better path for everyone in society today.
She fought for equality from America to Africa. She met two prominent figures in the Civil Right Movement history. In 1962 she met Nelson Mandela. He made a very eloquent impact on her interest in combating for equality. She commented: “I admire his endurance, of racism and imprisonment.” Two years later, she met Malcolm X in Ghana. She would soon join him in planning for an Organization of Afro-American Unity. No matter where Maya traveled, she continued to support the Civil Rights Movement.
During the Civil Rights Movement, many African American writers wrote analyses of society encompassing racial inequality and hardships. Maya Angelou was among those writers that become very influential in their literature works. As a feminist icon and civil rights activist, the powerful existence her words still lingers today in our society.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was born on 26 September, 1936 Bizana, Pond land Transkei district, South Africa. South African social worker and activist considered by many black South Africans to be the “Mother of the Nation.” She was the second wife of Nelson Mandela.
In 2016, Madikizela-Mandela was recognized by the South African government with the award of the Silver Order of Luthuli for her contributions to the liberation struggle during the apartheid era. On April 2, 2018, she died at the age of 81 after a long illness. Her life and legacy were honored with numerous memorial services throughout the country as well as a state funeral, held on April 14 at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa.
The Ethiopian Herald August 4, 2020
BY ESSEYE EMENGISTE
