Hirut Brasa Katila
In 1974, a military junta took power in Ethiopia and established a one-party Communist state. This government was overthrown by an uprising when opposition movements joined together to form the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Hirut Brasa Katila was one of those fighters and when the new government and constitution were created she was filled with hope for a new Ethiopia. As a member of Parliament, Hirut was instrumental in fighting for women’s rights. In her work as an advocate for women, Hirut has worked to convince women who perform Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) to stop this practice. Today Hirut is a Leadership Fellow and Head of the Oromiya Regional Justice Bureau. She is active on a number of boards serving women and busy facilitating training on reproductive rights and the law. She is determined to be a part of transforming Ethiopia and using her leadership skills to ensure the judiciary plays its role to help protect women’s rights and the rights of all citizens without gender bias.
I have been many things--a fighter, a lawyer, a member of Parliament and a student of medicine. I am from rural Ethiopia, the daughter of a Seventh Day Adventist pastor. During the revolution, I joined the EPRDF and fought. I was a member of the party's central committee for several years and then worked for the Oromo People's Democratic Organization in Parliament for ten years. I served as the Woman Affairs Committee Chairperson for seven of those years, and was the first woman to hold such a position. I believe my greatest achievement as a member of Parliament was to make sure that gender issues are mainstreamed in the work and planning of all ministries.
The violation of women’s rights must be pursued. I am now the Head of the Oromiya Regional Justice Bureau. One of the biggest challenges I face in my work with the Bureau is that the police ignore gender issues when women’s rights are abused. All the proper laws are already in place. Where we have a problem is in implementation. Our office tries to identify and address the issue of implementation, whether it’s with the prosecutor, the judge or the police.
The main crime against women in Oromiya, according to our data, is rape. The World Health Organization reports that 1/3 of Ethiopian woman have been raped by their husbands. Our laws do not address this issue. We have tried to amend the law but it is very difficult. Women, no matter what their station is in life, are all possible victims of sexual rights’ violations. Once married, the man, and sometimes the woman, believes the man has unlimited access to his wife’s body.
At my office at the Oromiya Regional Justice Bureau we analyze how women are treated, how the laws are applied and how evidence is gathered. We also look at what is being done by women to protect themselves. Without this department, these issues would not get much focus. There are many obstacles; we need attention, more money, and human resources support. We need to work harder on creating awareness for women about their rights and to change attitudes in our society. Often women don’t know what they are entitled to, which can lead to disastrous results.
I attended an LDM in-country training for women leaders in 2008 because there was a gap I was trying to fill. I wanted to do more to raise awareness of sexual abuse and women’s rights issues. I wanted to learn how to communicate better and improve my facilitation skills for leading meetings and other group discussions.
I feel that I am an organic leader but the training I received from LDM built upon that. I learned from the training how to communicate when you lead a meeting. I have developed confidence in my technical skills and knowledge of reproductive health rights. These issues are now mixed with my blood and I have started giving trainings on reproductive health and reproductive rights
My short term goal is to conduct research on gender based violence and identify the problems of implementing the existing laws. I will use that research to try to solve these problems. In the long term, I want to work with organizations to increase women’s political participation so that women’s issues will get more attention at all levels. My dream is that women will learn how to recognize and fight for their rights in the legal, political, social, and economic sectors.
Are these dreams possible? Many told me it was impossible to do the things that I have accomplished, but you have to believe in yourself. Then you can do anything.