Petition to call for Participation of Women in the Election of Advocate’s Administration Board Members
On July 30, 2022, the Federal Ministry of Justice announced on its official Facebook page that the board members of the Advocate’s Administration, who were all chosen by the Prime Minister, are all men. The appointment made on this basis is contrary to the principles of gender balance, inclusivity, and equality by excluding women and persons with disabilities and violating Article 35 of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia which constitutionally guarantees the rights of women to participate and hold positions of leadership and decision-making equal to men.
Call for women’s inclusion in the Leadership of the Advocate’s Administration Board
As a result, the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, a partner of the WeCannotWait Consortium strongly opposed to the institutions’ gender insensitive decision and using a public petition demands that:
1. The appointment be revised/reconsidered to include a proportionate number of females and,
2. Gender blind appointments should never be repeated again.
In the Public Petition, we call upon all Lawyers, Human Rights Organizations, National and International Organizations and Individuals who are interested to support this petition by objecting the appointments and job allocations done, and demand gender inclusive re-appointments both now and in the future.
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Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association was established at the federal level in 1996 by female lawyers. It is an indigenous civic organization registered by the Civil Society Authority; it has been working for more than 25 years to promote women’s social, economic, political and legal rights to help women exercise their constitutional and other rights.
Through its three programs—Legal Research and Advocacy, Public Education and Capacity Building, and Free Legal Aid Service—the association seeks to advance the equal participation of women in all spheres of society, prevent sexual violence against women, and provide a safe environment for women.
EWLA has its head office in Addis Ababa and eight branches in Adama/Nazareth, Assosa, Bahir Dar, Diredawa, Gambella, Jigjiga, Semara and Hawassa. The branch/regional offices are supported by 54 trained voluntary committees organized at woreda and zonal levels providing structures to reach women at a grass root level in Ethiopia.
