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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – Ethiopian lawmakers unanimously elected the country's first woman president on Thursday, a few days after approving one of the world's few "world-leading" law firms; the country's dramatic reforms are continuing.
While the veteran diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde held a mostly ceremonial position, many celebrated the only woman at the head of the state, currently in Africa. The first woman president of the continent, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, left office this year.
"Congratulations, Madam Speaker, women make the difference and we are proud of you!" María Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the UN General Assembly, said on Twitter.
"In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a woman at the head of the state is not only the norm for the future, but it also normalizes women as decision-makers of the state. public life, "Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's chief of staff said on Twitter. .
The country of East Africa has long shown some of the lowest indicators of gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa, said UN Women. "Women and girls in Ethiopia are at a significant disadvantage compared to boys and men in many areas, including literacy, health, livelihoods and basic human rights." Female bad mutilation continues in some areas despite the fact that the government has declared them illegal.
But the new prime minister has clearly decided to include women's leadership in the radical political and economic reforms he's announced in Africa's second-most populous country since taking office in April. .
Ethiopian legislators last week approved the creation of a women's government, a record 50 percent of ministers, including the country's first female defense minister. A woman also heads the new Ministry of Peace and oversees the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service and the Federal Police Commission.
According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women, the Horn of Africa's power has reached a handful of countries, mostly European, where women hold 50% or more of ministerial positions.
Probably inspired, Rwanda announced two days later its own cabinet composed of 50% women. The country has received international recognition for women's representation in government.
"The African continent is leading the way in showing that women's commitment and leadership are essential to lasting peace," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Twitter.
Sahle-Work has described Ethiopia's recent transfer of power to Abiy after months of anti-government demonstrations calling for broader freedoms, "exemplary". The ruling coalition that has ruled the country since 1991 and holds, with the Allied parties, every seat in Parliament, decided earlier this month to let Abiy lead the party until his next congress, a vote of confidence in the reforms.
The new president said she would use to bring all parties together to achieve peace in a country where multiple ethnic conflicts have prevailed in recent months, while political dialogue is taking place. opens.
Sahle-Work worked for various United Nations bodies and was the first director-general of the US office in Nairobi. Until recently, she was the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United States to the African Union.
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