About 6,000 women consulted - Coalition
The Coalition for Women's Voice in the National Dialogue, during its General Assembly on January 30, 2025, G.C. in Addis Ababa, announced that it has consulted about 6,000 women in the past two years.
The Coalition was established two years ago by 22 organizations to enable women to have meaningful participation in the national dialogue process and currently has more than 60 member organizations.
TIMRAN, the Coalition Secretariat, Executive Directress Jerusalem Solomon, who welcomed the participants, said that the Coalition started its work by formulating a position statement submitted to the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC), set out its future activities, and has been working to collect women's agendas by traveling to each region, to ensure that the women's agenda is not forgotten and not included in the national dialogue process like other national political issues, and monitor the participation of women in the activities of the ENDC.
Accordingly, in July 2024, women’s agendas collected from eight regional states and two city administrations were submitted to the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission, and then additional community-centered discussions were held in Central Ethiopia and Gambella regions, as well as in Addis Ababa, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia, and Oromia regions to collect women's agendas.
She pointed out that the Coalition has planned to provide training to women selected for national-level consultations to enable them to organize and present their ideas, and encouraged member organizations to continue their advocacy work so that women's agendas to be given attention and be effective.
The Coalition Steering committee member and Tarkanfi for Sustainable Development Executive Directress Worknesh Begi, in her opening speech, recalled that the coalition was established with the belief that the national dialogue process if implemented properly, would be a solution to our problems and the Coalition participated by involving women to help the process; thus she urged member organizations to continue their contribution in the process to make women's voices heard.
At the event, Feven Araya, a member of the coalition’s Steering committee and Executive Directress of Ethiopian Women’s Rights Advocate, presented the Steering committee activities report.
Presenting the core issues of the Coalition’s past work, Mr. Aschalew Mathewos, the Coalition Program Coordinator, explained that women’s agendas were gathered in 10 regions and two city administrations from consultation forums and community-based discussions, with a total of 5,631 participants, including 483 women living with disabilities.
The 2024 Coalition audit report was presented by a certified accounting firm, and the Coalition’s upcoming plan was deliberated by Mr. Asmamaw Mekonnen, a Senior M&E expert, and it was discussed by the assembly. At the same time, the general assembly accepted and approved three organizations that have been working in partnership with the Coalition as new members.
In her closing remarks, the Coalition’s Steering committee member and chairwoman of Benishangul Gumuz Regional State Women’s Association, Haimanot Tadesse, noted that to ensure women meaningful participation across the country, to gather and properly draft women’s agendas, to ensure that women’s voices are heard prominently for our country’s future successful journey, and to solve problems at national level, by including women in difficult living conditions the coalition has gathered and submitted women’s agendas to ENDC.
She also expressed her belief that women living in the Amhara and Tigray regions, where consultations were not held, will have their voices heard and agendas included as well as aspire to sustainable solutions and implementation to our national problems.
