Addis Ababa University (AAU) Women’s, Youth’s and Children’s Affairs Office marked International Women’s Day with a theme “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world” at Eshetu Cholle Hall, CBE, on the 18^th of March 2021.

Regarding to theme, celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day aimed to show women’s and girl’s multidimensional effort to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic and  their contribution in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the crisis.

Mitke Molla (PhD), Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, said on the celebration that there is no economic, political and social developments gained without the participation and contribution of women’s. “We know that women and girls almost cover the half number of the world, but still their participation in serious issues is not well considered,” Mitke added.

Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MoSHE) is thriving for women to go to university on an equal footing with men. Although it is not that much satisfactory, several women are using this opportunity nowadays, she added.

AAU vastly has planned and is working to bring women on higher positions and to participate   in different researches. Accordingly, Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer of AAU has taken this responsibility and prepared different platforms to increase female researchers, which is now on practice, Mitike noted.

Matebe Tarekegn, Director of Women’s, Youth’s and Children’s Affairs Office of AAU, addressed that the Office setups different discussion forums, capacity building trainings, economical support for students to assure equitable benefit of women.

To activate this plan, Revised Gender Policy and Gender Policy implementation guidelines and tracer study on graduate female scholarship have been done, Matebe added.

Concerning the COVID- 19, women participated in different researches, for instance, on the research entitled “Women and COVID-19” which was presented on the occasion for discussion.

 As the result of the research shows, women’s and girl’s contributed incredible works at the time of the pandemic. Against to this, Gender-based violence is increasing exponentially as COVID-19 deepens economic and social stress on families coupled with restricted movement and social isolation measures.

Many women were forced to stay ‘lockdown’ at home with their abusers; at the same time the essential services to support survivors of gender-based violence are being disrupted or made inaccessible.

By: Tsion Aysheshim

Photo: Andualem Aseffa

Editor: Abraham Girmay