Saturday, December 2, 2023

Tigray War: Ethiopian minister resigns to preserve moral values

Ms Abdullahi had been vocal about rape and sexual violence carried out during the Tigray war.

• September 27, 2021
Ethiopia's Minister for Women, Children and Youth, Filsan Abdullahi
Ethiopia’s Minister for Women, Children and Youth, Filsan Abdullahi [Photo credit: Twitter]

Ethiopia’s Minister for Women, Children and Youth, Filsan Abdullahi, has resigned over circumstances she says could compromise her moral values.

Ms Abdullahi’s resignation was contained in an official statement released on Monday, where she mentioned vacating her position due to personal principles. 

“Any situation that compromises my ethics is contrary to my convictions and values, and betraying those beliefs is a breach of trust to myself and our citizens,” Ms Abdullahi said.

Continuing, she said, “For reasons of a personal nature that weigh heavily on my conscience, I regretfully submit my letter of resignation effective immediately.”

Though no reason was specified, Ms Abdullahi had been vocal about rape and sexual violence carried out during the Tigray war.

Her resignation comes one week before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is set to name a new government.

In April, Financial Times reported Ms Abdullahi as saying that a task force “unfortunately established rape had taken place conclusively and without a doubt.”

The report stated she hoped the work of bringing justice to the victims would be hastened. 

In August, a report by Amnesty International revealed that Ethiopian troops and allied Eritrean forces raped hundreds of women and girls in Tigray.

Reports on the war between government forces and rebels revealed multiple instances of rape and sexual violence carried out against women and children in the region.

Many survivors reported being gang-raped for days or weeks on end while being held captive.

Several women reported having nails and gravel inserted into their vaginal chambers, “causing lasting and possibly irreparable damage.”

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Jigawa on map

States

Fire razes three shops, valuables in Jigawa

Mr Shehu said the fire consumed three phones and accessories shops, a stall and part of a mosque.

Prof Omotoye Olorode

NationWide

Socialist movement advocates workable economic policies to alleviate citizens’ hardships

Mr Olorode said that the socialist transformation was their vision of a new society.

African Development Bank (AfDB) building

Economy

AfDB, GGBI partner to strengthen Africa’s green bond market

“The initiative will help private capital flow from institutional investors into climate and environmental projects.’’

NationWide

FG to partner religious groups, NGO to tackle insurgency

“Religious organisations live with the people and can support information gathering.’’

Guinea Bissau (Credit: NW flags)

NationWide

ECOWAS flays disruption of constitutional order in Guinea Bissau

ECOWAS called for the arrest and persecution of the perpetrators of the incident.