Law professional and women’s rights activist Meaza Ashenafi has been name as President of the Federal Supreme Court

Women have risen to the top in Ethiopia in recent weeks.

Meaza Ashenafi’s appointment as President of the Supreme Court follows close on Sahle-Work Zewde become the country’s first president…

…and ten women named to the slimmed-down 20-member Cabinet.

The move could be a turning point for Ethiopian girls.

They fill 48% of the desks in primary school but constitute only a third of pupils in higher education.

Ahmed’s appointments will show them that if they get educated there is definitely something to work for. 

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It’s another in the line of reforms by Premier Abiy Ahmed.

Sahle-Work Zewde will occupy a ceremonial position in Africa’s second most populous country.

However her appointment is deeply symbolic.

It follows on last week’s Cabinet reshuffle where half the trimmed-down executive are female, with women holding the two  most powerful  positions.

Zewde is  a veteran of the United Nations and the diplomatic corps.

Fitsum Arega, who as Ahmed’s chief of staff is the effective government spokesman, has tweeted that in a highly patriarchal society like Ethiopia, the appointment of a female head of state sets the standard for the future and normalizes the role of women as decision makers in public life.

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