“I thought I was the only one” – growing a feminist movement in Ethiopia

Sehin Teferra (PhD) is an inspiration. Astute business-woman, passionate academic and pioneering activist, she is paving the way for a new wave of feminism in Ethiopia. 2 years ago, Sehin founded the Setaweet Movement (meaning ‘of woman’ in the local language, Amharic) and, as the movement grows, she has taken some time to reflect on where it all began…  

As a feminist, I always felt alone here in Ethiopia. I always felt like I had a different perspective to other people I met. But then I talked a lot to other women – other feminists – we said to each other “I thought I was the only one.”

A shot in the dark

It felt natural to form a platform, a safe space for our ideas. It started in July 2014 as a study group for feminists living and working in the capital city, Addis Ababa. We had no idea if we’d even have a second meeting, it was a real shot in the dark.

But it was an idea whose time had come; an obvious space to be filled. It has never been a structured thing – the members take turns to share perspectives and experiences. We firmly believe in the feminist principle that the personal is political.

The Setaweet circle meets monthly and members lead conversations on topics that have ranged from the effect of development programmes on women, to academic research on sex work. Some of our most intense sessions have focused on Ethiopian body-beauty ideals, the experience of violence in our lives and the Hijab as a feminist choice.

Opening our doors to a movement

We grew a lot in the first 12 months. Partly in response to the request by some men to participate in Setaweet, and with the aim of reaching a wider audience, we created the Setaweet ‘open sessions’. These are available to anyone for free and have ranged from the treatment of women by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, to the representation of Ethiopian women throughout modernity by Dr. Elizabeth Wolde Giorgis, an art historian who recently published a book on the topic.

We organised a showing of the Suffragette film, followed by a conversation with Dr. Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, who lives in Addis. We engaged in a heated discussion on the absence of a significant feminist movement in Ethiopia.

We also supported the formation of an informal group of Ethiopian men called ‘Arif Wond’ (‘Cool Man’) which meets every few weeks to discuss feminist principles relevant to their experiences, including male privilege and entitlement.

Feminist activism

Setaweet is active on social media; our Facebook page and our members’ Twitter profiles engage the Ethiopian public on feminist and social justice topics. We also engage constructively with the Ethiopian media; our members and allies are regularly featured on Amharic radio programmes, talking about gender equality, and we have repeatedly called out sexist advertising and media content.

Setaweet combines activism with service provision, to sustain our movement and share our insights more widely. Members are often invited to give presentations or more formal trainings for universities, corporate companies and non-profit organisations; recent clients have included Action Aid, CARE and the Association of Women in Business (AWIB). We have worked hard to standardise the feminist content, research and delivery that goes into these Setaweet sessions with the aim of creating a recognisable and sustainable feminist brand.

We are also proud of Setaweet’s unique feminist curriculum, developed for Ethiopian schools. Our approach incorporates a men-only session where male facilitators help students question the ‘man box’ that encourages men to be aggressive and emotionally distant. We hope to leave each school with its own version of Setaweet, creating a ripple effect of change.

Spreading her wings

Being a feminist in Ethiopia is wonderful and hopeful. There is obviously a lot of resistance to the idea of equality in Ethiopia, but we find there are many equality aspirations, too. There is a culture of violence towards women, and making women responsible for violence against them is really ingrained in our society. Yet, we are seeing more and more men speak up for women.

Setaweet works with men to help them consider their approach to women. We are not afraid to ask the difficult questions, to ruffle feathers. We are ambitious and Setaweet has a life of her own – we call her ‘her’. Setaweet needs to spread her wings to have a broader reach. We would love to see a Setaweet club in ever school and it is important that she isn’t centrally controlled. People can take it further than even we can imagine.

Claiming the movement

We claim the term ‘movement’. We’re a group of people coming together for a cause, being driven by that energy. Movements have lives of their own – they grow and share. We are open to seeing where this movement takes us.