On February 7, 2021, President Sahle-Work Zewde visited Mekelle, where she visited a safe house for survivors of sexual violence in Tigray. AFP reported that, during the Ethiopian president’s visit, rape survivors gathered in a television room cried out in horror when soldiers providing security arrived to inspect the facility before her arrival. Fearing that they would be assaulted again, the survivors were reportedly terrified by the presence of the soldiers.
“When she (the President) came, we cried, we screamed, we didn’t want to talk to her,” recalled another rape survivor, who told AFP that Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers raped her for eight days in a military camp after pulling her off a bus near the Tigray town of Wukro. “We never want to talk to her (the President),” she added.
The following note is taken from an article by professor Jan Nyssen published on Mondale:
The president insisted on visiting survivors of sexual violence at the local hospital. Despite being warned by doctors, Ethiopia’s first female president, accompanied by military personnel, stormed into the hospital room. According to those present, there was great panic among these women, who suffer from post-traumatic stress. Few photos or images have been made public about this visit, probably because the atmosphere was so hostile. The Ethiopian News Agency published a photo of Sahlework chatting with the displaced people. The sad face of the displaced woman in the photo speaks volumes.
On the evening news broadcast of the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) on February 7, 2021, it was reported that Sahle-Work Zewde had visited Ayder Specialized Hospital, a federal grain storage facility, and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The report also mentioned that she had met with religious leaders and elders in the city. However, it made no mention of her meeting with survivors of sexual violence in Tigray.
The following note is taken from an article titled “A ‘Feminist’ Government: And Its Repulsive Rape Cover-ups,” published on Saba’s Diary.
“Four months into this war, The President decided to travel to the war torn region. Part of her photo-op visit was to include a stop at a hospital were rape victims were also being treated. At the entrance, the President was politely asked by doctors and other stuff members to not go in with military men who accompanied her. The victims were traumatized & the sight of men in uniforms was additional trauma. The president took a personal offense to being morally lectured. So she refused. She demanded that the military men be allowed in with her. The hospital stuff reported that on catching sight of the soldiers, the victims began screaming, crying and shaking with fear. The president had to remove herself from the spot immediately since no amount of comforting or assurance could calm the victims down. She left — leaving the victims a little worse than she found them. Her office then released statements & pictures. Showing her interacting attentively & kindly with locals. This would surely get her boss the good PR he very much needed. Still no mention of rape allegations. Continued silence. The president warned at the beginning of her term that she will exhaust the men by speaking up for women issues. Two years into her seat & tested with real life challenge, the world could see she has no intention of delivering on that promise.“
On Ethiopian state-owned media, the survivors of sexual violence who were visited by President Sahle-Work Zewde in Mekelle were described as “prostitutes” who had come expecting to receive 2,500 Ethiopian birr.
EBC |18 June 2022
Ethnic-Amhara Sahle-Work Zewde showed no concern about the genocidal war that was taking place Tigray, as illustrated by the following video, in which she praised ENDF soldiers who took part in the war during a December 2020 speech, when she believed the war was over. Even after the international community had recognized that heinous atrocities were being committed in Tigray, she threatened military action against Tigray in her parliamentary opening speech in October 2022. Sahle-Work only took issue with the Abiy Ahmed regime when it turned its weapons and atrocities against the Amhara people, ultimately prompting her to resign from her position.
Sahle-Work Zewde’s Role in Worsening Gender-Based Violence Against Women and Girls in Tigray
Statement by Sahle-work Zewde following her visit to Mekelle
Sahle-Work Zewde was rebuffed by victims of the genocidal war she met in Mekelle over the bombing, mass killings, rape, and starvation of the people of Tigray. It is important to remember that Sahle-Work had praised ENDF forces who committed heinous atrocities in Tigray. Sahle-Work talking about how much she cares about Tigray is like rubbing salt into the wounds of every woman who suffered sexual violence during the conflict.
War-monger Sahle-Work Zewde tried to acknowledge the atrocities committed by invading forces in Tigray in March 2024 during her speech on the occasion of the 128th celebration of Victory of Adwa in Adwa, Tigray. She characterized the war as a war between brothers during which “innocent civilians were killed, many fled and many other were displaced, property was destroyed, women were raped”. She never directly acknowledged atrocities were committed against the people of Tigray
While generally admitting that atrocities were committed was a positive step and that was too late for a person who praised the very soldiers who participated during the genocidal war in Tigray and kept silent for most . Sahle-Work would never have admitted atroicities were committed had the regime atrocities spread into the Amhara region, which is considered one of her disagreements with Abiy Ahmed.
During her speech, Sahle-Work recounted a particular interaction she had with an internally displaced woman during her visit to Mekelle in February 2021.
Sahle-Work finally acknowledges atrocities—but stops short of naming those responsible
War-monger Sahle-Work Zewde attempted to acknowledge the atrocities committed by invading forces in Tigray during a speech in March 2024, delivered in Adwa, Tigray, on the occasion of the 128th anniversary of the Victory of Adwa. She characterized the conflict as a war between brothers, acknowledging that “innocent civilians were killed, many fled and many others were displaced, property was destroyed, and women were raped.” Yet she never directly acknowledged that these atrocities were committed against the people of Tigray, nor did she explicitly name or condemn the forces responsible.
While her general acknowledgment that atrocities had occurred was a positive step, it came far too late from a president who had previously praised soldiers who participated in the genocidal war in Tigray and remained largely silent about the atrocities for much of the conflict. Sahle-Work’s acknowledgment of these crimes was also deeply compromised by her failure to identify those responsible. Her motive for acknowledging the atrocities was reportedly linked to her disagreement with Abiy Ahmed, particularly over the expansion of the conflict and atrocities into the Amhara region—an apparent point of contention that may have contributed to her resignation in October 2024.
During her speech, Sahle-Work recounted a particular interaction she had with an internally displaced woman during her visit to Mekelle in February 2021.
During the Tigray war, I once met a displaced woman. I approached her carrying a gift, but she turned her face away from me. I wasn’t particularly surprised given what she had been through, so I approached her again and told her, ‘I’ve come with a gift for you.’
But the young woman’s response surprised me. She told me, ‘I don’t need your gift.’ When I asked her, ‘Why?’ the answer she gave me was heartbreaking:
‘Will the gift you have brought me bring back my two children whom I raised by selling Tella [a local alcoholic drink], but whom I lost to death?”
I didn’t have an answer. The only thing I said was, “it won’t.”
— Sahle-Work Zewde