Bogaletch Gebre

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Bogaletch Gebre (2015)

Bogaletch "Boge" Gebre (* 1960 in Kembatta , Kembata-Tembaro Zone ; † November 2, 2019 in Los Angeles ) was an Ethiopian microbiologist and women's rights activist .

Origin and education

Bogaletch Gebre grew up in the small town of Kembatta in the southern Ethiopian district of Tembaro. At the age of 12 she was the victim of traditional female genital mutilation . Her father forbade her to attend secondary school. She ran away from home and attended a mission school . After graduating from school, she studied microbiology in Jerusalem . A Fulbright Scholarship enabled her to study epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst , earning a Ph.D. completed.

Professional and social activity

During her stay in the United States, Bogaletch Gebre founded an aid organization "Development through Education", which supported students at Ethiopian high schools and universities with specialist literature worth $ 26,000.

After completing her studies in the early 1990s, Gebre returned to Ethiopia, where she was committed to women's rights . In particular, she gave lectures on the taboo HIV and AIDS epidemic that has spread dramatically in Africa since the 1980s. Gebre determined that it was necessary to create a stable relationship of trust with the population before social change could be achieved. She got involved with problems that were brought to her on the spot. With their support, a bridge was built that enabled children to reach a school nearby and traders to local markets. After this bridge was built, she and her sister Fikirte Gebre founded the organization KGM Ethiopa ( Kembatti Mentti Gezzima-Tope , German: The women of Kembatta stand together ), which set up advice centers in many places to support women in their rights.

KGM's work was also dedicated to the fight against the widespread practice of female genital mutilation , which has repeatedly led to deaths. Gebre was able to initiate a dialogue about the cruel consequences of this tradition, which supposedly had always existed, but for which no one could provide a justification - neither from the Bible nor the Koran . Parents, though illiterate, believed they always wanted their children to be safe. According to The Economist , female genital mutilation has subsequently been reduced from almost 100% to 3%.

Another important campaign was against bride robbery , in which young women were forcibly kidnapped and forced to marry. According to the National Committee on Traditional Practices of Ethiopia , this was the basis in 69% of marriages in 2003. The British newspaper Independent reported that KMG reduced the phenomenon of bride robbery in Kembatta by over 90%. In 2010, the Independent Bogaletch characterized Gebre as the woman who led the uprising by Ethiopian women .

In addition to her socio-political work, Gebre was also the first female lecturer at the University of Addis Ababa .

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tribute to Bogaletch Gebre. Obituary of the Press Club Brussels Europe , November 6, 2019 (English). Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  2. ^ 'Wave of hope' to end FGM in Ethiopia as activist pioneer dies
  3. ↑ a b c Tina Rosenberg: Talking Female Circumcision Out of Existence . In: The New York Times , July 17, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2014. 
  4. ↑ Abducted. Raped. Married. Can Ethiopia's wives ever break free? (en) . In: The Independent , March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2020. 
  5. ↑ a b c d Johann Hari: Kidnapped, Raped, Married: The Extraordinary Rebellion of Ethiopia's Abducted Wives . In: The Independent , March 16, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2014. 
  6. ↑ Priya Shetty: Bogaletch Gebre: ending female genital mutilation in Ethiopia . In: The Lancet , June 23, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2019. 
  7. ↑ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2807%2960964-7/fulltext
  8. ↑ a b Standing up for women . In: The Economist , May 23, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2014. 
  9. ↑ KGM Ethiopia (English)
  10. ↑ http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-archive/256
  11. ↑ https://www.cncdh.fr/fr/ong/kmg-ethiopia website of the French Human Rights Commission, accessed on December 10, 2012
  12. ^ Fulbright Alumna Awarded King Baudouin Prize in Belgium . United States Department of State. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved on August 17, 2014.
  13. ↑ Bogalatech Gebre (Ethiopia) . eeas.europa.eu. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  14. ↑ http://www.kreisky.org/human.rights/englisch/pt.php?suchmodus=1&anfang=G website of the Bruno Kreisky Foundation, accessed on February 17, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Gebre, Bogaletch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gebre, Boge (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ethiopian microbiologist and women's rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Kembatta , Kembata-Tembaro Zone , Ethiopia
DATE OF DEATH 2nd November 2019
Place of death los Angeles