Ethiopia’s parliament approves Zewde as first female president

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s parliament has approved senior diplomat Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s first female president, proceedings on state television showed, cementing another shift in the country’s political system from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Sahle-Work is at present UN under-secretary general and special representative of the secretary general to the African Union. She replaces Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, who tendered his resignation to parliament earlier on Wednesday.

The president’s post is a ceremonial one in Ethiopia. The prime minister, who is the head of state, holds executive power.

“In a historic move, the two Houses has elected Ambassador Shalework Zewde as the next President of #Ethiopia. She is the first female head of state in modern Ethiopia,” Fitsum Arega, Abiy’s chief of staff, said on Twitter.

“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.”

Last week, when the prime minister reshuffled his cabinet, he appointed 10 female ministers, making Ethiopia the third country in Africa, after Rwanda and Seychelles, to achieve gender parity in their cabinets.

“When there is no peace in country, mothers will be frustrated. Therefore, we need to work on peace for the sake of our mothers,” Sahle-Work told parliament after her approval.

Teshome, who had held the office for five years, departed one year ahead of his term ending, saying he wanted to be part of change and reforms. Sahle-Work becomes the fourth president since the ruling EPRDF coalition came to power.

Since his appointment in April, Abiy has presided over a raft of reforms that have turned the region’s politics on its head, including the pardoning of dissidents long outlawed by the government. — AFP THE Mozambican government has reportedly sacked at least 164 school teachers over the last 12 months for various reasons, the main one being suspected sexual harassment.

According to Club of Mozambique, of the total number dismissed, 124 were removed on sexual harassment grounds.

Minister of Education and Human Development Conceita Sortane was quoted as saying that her ministry remained “vigilant in identifying professionals who behave in a dubious manner”.

Pambazuka News reported in 2010 that teenage girls in Mozambique often fell pregnant before reaching 16, the legal age of marriage. This usually put an end to their education.

Quoting a 2008 report compiled by the Mozambique Ministry of Education and Culture, Pambazuka News said that many of these pregnancies were not consensual and girls were impregnated by teachers who asked for sexual favours in exchange for passing grades.

The report, entitled “Mechanism to stop and report cases of sexual abuse of girls”, found that 70 percent of female students said a teacher had asked them for sexual favours in order to pass. — AP