World leaders praise Ethiopia for electing first female president and installing gender-equal cabinet
- Seasoned diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde is the only current female head of state on the continent
- Women were selected to lead the new Ministry of Peace, the National Intelligence and Security Service and the Federal Police Commission
Ethiopian lawmakers unanimously elected the country’s first female president on Thursday, days after approving one of the world’s few “gender-balanced” cabinets as the country’s dramatic reforms continue.
As seasoned diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde assumed the largely ceremonial post, many celebrated Africa’s only current female head of state. The continent’s first female president, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, left office this year.
“Congratulations, Madam President! Women do make a difference. We are proud of you!” the female president of the United Nations General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa Garces, said in a Twitter post.
“In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalises women as decision-makers in public life,” the chief of staff for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Twitter.
The East African country long has shown some of the lowest indicators of gender equality in Sub-Saharan Africa, UN Women has said. “Women and girls in Ethiopia are strongly disadvantaged compared to boys and men in several areas, including literacy, health, livelihoods and basic human rights.”