This one should have stayed in the drafts folder

Nov 27, 2023

Hello and welcome to new subscribers,

This is Sifter, a newsletter that brings you the top 5 news stories on Ethiopia every week. I’m Maya Misikir, and I am the freelance reporter who curates and writes it.

Last weekend marked the start of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. I went to see an art exhibition at Alliance Ethio-Française, which is hosting this and other performances throughout the 16 days. The exhibition is free and if you’re looking to be moved by some powerful art, I highly suggest you check it out.

While on this topic, I’ll be speaking on a panel this coming Wednesday on online gender-based violence at the Satchmo Center, in the U.S. Embassy. The event is organized by SheEsecures, an online platform ‘devoted to crafting a safer digital space for women’. So, if you happen to have some free time this Wednesday afternoon, register here and come by for a couple of hours.

(I’ll be talking about my short-lived experience moderating a server on a social media platform.)

Now, to the news.

Education: singling out mothers

The Ministry of Education has been busy writing a draft directive that will determine the assessment and grading of students, expected to be applicable across the country. The draft directive has been causing an uproar across social media platforms among women’s rights activists and really anyone with an ounce of common sense.

Article 15 of this directive says that any student with more than 12 days of absence from school will be barred from passing on to the next grade. Furthermore, it adds that a student who, due to giving birth, has been absent for more than 15 consecutive days, will also be barred from passing on to the next grade.

In Ethiopia, not unlike many other countries, the lack of proper menstrual hygiene management is one of the reasons impacting the education of girls. A lot of girls in rural Ethiopia just stay at home when they menstruate because they do not have access to menstrual hygiene products.

Here’s an excerpt from a report done by FSG, a global non-profit:

“25% of rural girls and 4% of urban girls reported doing nothing to manage menstruation: simply washing or secluding themselves in the forest, desert, field, or at home.”

Just last month, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission came out with a report saying that there are concerning trends in the town of Bonga (a regional capital!), where women and girls are kicked out of their homes whenever they menstruate.

I don’t know if anyone has bothered to do the math over at the Ministry of Education but considering that the average menstrual cycle lasts from 2 to 7 days, these ‘12 days a year’ mentioned in the draft directive can easily be clocked within the first three to four months of the year.

This is to say nothing of the impact of the rising cost of menstrual hygiene products for the small percentage of girls who can afford it; over the past three years, it has increased by 75 percent.

The Ethiopian Women Lawyer’s Association which released a statement on this new draft directive, argues that maternity leave is a ‘basic right for women to pursue their education and care for their newborn children’ and that this new law, ‘blatantly denies women their fundamental right to access education’.

The draft directive comes off even more tone-deaf when you consider the impact that insecurity has had on student’s access to education. Earlier this month, another report by a UN agency revealed that over 7 million children are out of school in Ethiopia due to, ‘natural and manmade calamities’.

This media attention is not new to the Ministry of Education, which has been in the limelight over the past year, following a new direction it has been taking in relation to tightening the examination process for students. In January, high school leaving examinations were conducted at university campuses for the first time, in order to avoid cheating among students and exam paper leaks. The results were grim; out of nearly 900,000 students who sat for their exams last year, only 29,909 were qualified to study at a university level. The results for the latest batch, announced in October, were even worse.

Ironically, this latest draft directive states that one of its guiding principles is to ensure that the assessment of students is based on their results only, adding that it gives special attention to girls and students with special needs.

Special thanks to Kiya Ali, who shared this draft law with me. She runs Article 35, a platform that works on gender equality. If anyone is interested in taking a look at the draft law, hit reply and I’ll share it with you too.

The full story on The Reporter in Amharic here, and the UN report here.

Peace talks: second round ends with no agreement

The second round of peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the rebel faction, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) has ended with no agreement reached. This second round of negotiations took place in Tanzania, like the first one, and reports had come out over the past weeks that the talks were promising considering that both sides had high-level representation present there including the OLA’s Commander, Kumsa Diriba.

Why did it fail? Well, we have two sides to this coin.

The Ethiopian government says that though it tried to be flexible and accommodating, the demands of the OLA were ‘unrealistic’. The OLA on the other says that the Ethiopian government was not interested in addressing real issues but was instead enticing the group with offers of power.

I wrote an update on the OLA’s political manifesto in May when the two parties engaged in their first negotiations. The manifesto, entitled, ‘From Armed Struggle to the Prospect of Peace’, provides context on what the group is seeking to achieve in its movement. If you want to check my notes on that, go here.

The talks have not concluded in an agreement, nor in a ceasefire between the two sides.

The post by the Ethiopian government’s national security advisor to the Prime Minister here and the post by the OLA’s international spokesperson here.

Security: we don’t know her (XII)

Conflict in Ethiopia’s Amhara region has continued over the past weeks. One of the reports I linked in my update last week talked about drone strikes in the region. This is the result of the continued fighting between the federal government and the region’s armed militia (known as Fano).

Here’s an excerpt from the UN report:

“On 6 November, a drone allegedly launched by Government forces struck a primary school in the Wadera district, killing seven people, including three teachers. Reports also suggest Fano militias had occupied some parts of the campus.”

Another report by VOA Amharic talks about how armed fighters (allegedly Fano militia) opened fire at a prison and set hundreds of inmates free. The shoot-out at a prison facility in the town of Weldiya happened last week Thursday and residents that the story mentioned say that about 600 prisoners were set free after the militia overpowered the prison security forces.

This continued fighting in the region is also disrupting services including the provision of medical supplies, fertilizers, and emergency food according to a story in Addis Standard.

The full report by the UN Human Rights Office here, the report by VOA, in Amharic here and the story by Addis Standard in English here.

Law: Bank staffers want stronger action

Last week, I wrote an update on two senior African Development Bank Group officials who were illegally detained, and assaulted by security forces.

A story by Semafor Africa last week further revealed that the two high-level officials included the Bank’s Ethiopia country manager Abdul Kamara. Here’s an excerpt:

“Two people familiar with the matter said there had been an email phishing incident by fraudsters which had led to the disappearance of over $5 million intended to be deposited into the bank. But it is still unclear if the attacks on the AfDB officials by the ministry’s security guards were directly related to the disappearance of the funds.”

The update from Semafor says this incident is now causing ‘disquiet’ among long-time staffers who want the Bank to take stronger action.

Here’s another excerpt from the story:

“At the least we should have suspended operations and withdrawn all personnel. To send a strong signal,” said one staffer in a text message seen by Semafor Africa. Another text suggested the bank would be “endorsing state-sponsored thuggery” if the AfDB did not take strong action.”

The Bank in a previous official statement had said its staff were let go after the intervention of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and that an investigation was underway.

The full story by Semafor Africa here.

Labour rights: Moha vs 8,000 employees

At this point, pretty much everyone is well aware of the shortage of foreign currency. Last week, The Reporter came out with a story that Moha Soft Drinks Industry PLC, a major bottler company, has stopped operations across all its eight production sites in the country because of this same reason.

The company, which hasn’t been able to get the foreign currency to import bottles, crates, and other materials for production, has been in talks with labor rights union representatives in the country.

Why? Here’s an excerpt from the story:

“More than 8,000 employees have lost or resigned from their jobs at Moha over the past year, according to the source. Those in management positions are leaving either through voluntary resignations or being laid off, disclosed the source.
Moha employees, who allege they were not given adequate notice or paid severance packages, have turned to the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) for help.”

The story, which cites the president of the Trade Union, says there are promising signs of a resolution in these discussions.

It doesn’t end there.

Here’s another (shocking) excerpt for anyone who’s recently drank Pepsi, Mirinda, 7UP, or Kool Carbonated Water (all products provided by the bottler):

“The source alleges that any Moha products currently being sold in the market are either counterfeit or have outlived their expiration date, raising concerns about health and quality.”

The full story on The Reporter here.

Was this forwarded to you by someone? Then hit the button below to subscribe and get free weekly updates.

That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!

In the meantime, you can help support my work by forwarding this to friends and family (and help them keep up with what’s going on).

Sifter