December 12, 2025 (Ethiopia): Insights from Regional Consultations Supporting Ethiopia’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
When women are meaningfully included in peace and decision-making, societies do not just recover from conflict — they transform. This conviction lies at the heart of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, and it guided Ethiopia’s journey in 2024 as the country undertook regional consultations to inform the drafting of its first-ever National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS.
As one of the technical committee members supporting this national process, I had the privilege of participating in a series of consultations held in Harari (11–12 February 2024), Afar (17–18 March 2024), Tigray (19–20 June 2024), and Benishangul-Gumuz (3–4 September 2024). Each dialogue brought together local leaders, women’s associations, youth, people with disabilities, religious leaders, and government representatives to explore what meaningful participation for women in peace and governance truly looks like in their contexts.
What emerged was a picture of both resilience and restraint — women determined to lead, yet still constrained by long-standing social norms, economic barriers and institutional gaps.
Afar: Silenced Voices and Fragile Gains
In Afar, participants described a landscape where decision-making remains dominated by male elders. While women play vital roles in community cohesion and mediation at the household level, their presence in formal governance and peace structures is almost invisible.
“Don’t forbid women from participating, but don’t allow them to take it all by themselves,” one elder said — a statement that captures the deeply rooted ambivalence toward women’s leadership.
Early marriage, low education, and limited employment opportunities compound this exclusion. Yet, hope persists: women’s associations and peace ambassadors are beginning to change attitudes by demonstrating how women’s engagement contributes to stability. Still, without legal or institutional safeguards, these gains remain fragile and reversible.
Tigray: From Quotas to Recovery
Tigray’s story illustrates how conflict can erase hard-won gender progress. Before the war, the region had achieved gender parity in its regional council — a historic 50% women’s representation. Today, only one woman serves in the transitional cabinet of 27 members.
The war left many women widowed, displaced, and economically devastated. Women’s voices in reconstruction and reconciliation processes are largely absent, despite their disproportionate suffering. Participants emphasized that recovery must start by rebuilding confidence, livelihoods, and trust — ensuring that women are not mere participants but decision-makers in peace and recovery efforts.
Harari: Facing Double Standards
In Harari, women face a double burden — navigating both institutional exclusion and cultural conservatism. Despite progressive laws, few women serve as judges, security officers, or senior administrators. Women who do break through often encounter skepticism about their competence, or face removal before they can make a lasting impact.
“There’s always a question about a woman’s capacity — even when she has proven herself,” one participant observed.
Social expectations, economic dependency, and religious conservatism further limit women’s visibility in public life. While civil society organizations are active, many participants felt their interventions were donor-driven rather than community-rooted, underscoring the need for locally grounded advocacy that reflects the lived realities of women in Harari.
Benishangul-Gumuz: Emerging Voices Amidst Challenges
In Benishangul-Gumuz, the consultations revealed cautious optimism. Women’s groups are gradually stepping into peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts, though they still face systemic barriers and limited institutional support.
Participants highlighted the need for mentorship, training, and inclusion in early warning and local peace committee structures — areas where women’s perspectives could make a crucial difference in preventing violence and strengthening community cohesion.
Shared Realities Across Regions
Despite regional differences, the consultations revealed common themes that mirror challenges across the country:
- Leadership remains defined as a male domain, reinforced by cultural and religious norms.
- Economic dependence continues to limit women’s ability to participate in governance.
- Institutional frameworks exist on paper but lack enforcement.
- Education gaps and early marriage persist, especially in rural and pastoral areas.
- Post-conflict settings have reversed earlier gains in gender representation.
Yet, across all four regions, women’s resilience stood out. They continue to mobilize, advocate, and lead — often with limited support but unwavering determination. Their message was clear: women are not waiting to be invited into peace processes; they are already doing the work, often invisibly.
Moving from Presence to Power
To ensure the success of Ethiopia’s forthcoming NAP — and to advance the WPS agenda regionally — the consultations pointed to several key actions:
- Institutionalize women’s representation in peace committees, local councils and transitional bodies.
- Invest in women’s economic empowerment to build confidence and independence.
- Scale up leadership and mediation training for women at grassroots and mid-levels.
- Engage men and traditional leaders as allies in transforming gender norms.
- Integrate women’s voices into national dialogue, DDR, and security sector reform.
- Hold institutions accountable for translating commitments into measurable change.
Why This Matters for IGAD and the Region?
The experiences from Ethiopia echo broader patterns across IGAD Member States — where women’s contributions to peace are widely acknowledged but not yet fully institutionalized. As regional actors work to strengthen cross-border peacebuilding, mediation, and governance, women’s inclusion must be viewed not as an optional commitment, but as a strategic necessity.
Ethiopia’s NAP process offers valuable lessons for the region: inclusive consultations, community ownership, and sustained capacity-building can turn rhetoric into reality. The IGAD Regional Action Plan (RAP) on WPS provides an important framework — but its success depends on member states embedding women’s leadership at every level, from local councils to continental platforms.
Conclusion: Recognizing Leadership That Already Exists
Across Ethiopia’s regions, women are not asking for permission to lead — they already are. From Afar’s peace ambassadors to Tigray’s war survivors and Harari’s civic activists, their leadership is reshaping communities quietly and persistently.
As one young participant in Harari put it:
“Women are not asking for permission to lead peace — we already are. What we need is for our leadership to be recognized and supported.”
The road to lasting peace in the Horn of Africa depends on whether leaders and communities can recognize, trust, and support the leadership that women are already showing at the grassroots level.
By: Manyingerew Shenkut,
Technical Committee Member,
Ethiopia’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).
