Women Making a Difference

Bogalech Alemu

Source: Pathfinder International

For decades, Ms. Bogalech Alemu has been an advocate for women's rights and social change in Ethiopia. Since 2003, she has been advancing Pathfinder International's focus on reproductive health, family planning, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Recognized throughout Ethiopia as a leading expert on gender, harmful traditional practices, and nutrition, Ms. Alemu has worked tirelessly and effectively to chip away at and gradually change beliefs and practices that are harmful to girls and women but are deeply entrenched in the ancient traditions of her country. Her determination is matched by her knowledge and her ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with all stakeholders, from officials of the Ministry of Health to traditional circumcisers and local community leaders.

Ms. Alemu was educated in Nigeria, where she received her BS in Vocational Home Economics Education and her MSc in Curriculum Development and Instruction. She has also undertaken advanced training in Ethiopia and Asia. Her many positions have included Head of the Women's Extension Division of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), and Head of the Women's Affairs Department of the MOA, followed by many leadership roles focused on developing and disseminating lessons that can raise government leaders' awareness to sensitive issues related to gender, population, and development. Her work has advanced programming not only in Ethiopia, but also in many other African nations as well.

Government leaders call upon Ms. Alemu repeatedly to serve on boards, national committees, and task forces. These have included the National Task Force on Population and Reproductive Health; National Nutrition Strategy Development Committee; Hunger Project of Ethiopia; African Women Leaders in Food Security, Agriculture, and Environment; the World Bank-supported Grass Roots Women Initiative Fund; Ethiopian Rural Self-Help Association; and National Committee for the Eradication of HTPs in Ethiopia.

At Pathfinder International, Ms. Alemu has developed gender mainstreaming guidelines for broad use throughout Ethiopia, teaching leaders in every sector to acknowledge and address the social and cultural barriers that resist gender equity and opportunities for women. She has led the charge to promote women's rights in concrete and transforming ways. Ms. Alemu is currently Chairperson of the National Committee on Traditional Practices of Ethiopia and has worked tirelessly to raise national consciousness and to stop harmful traditional practices. Pathfinder's goal to ensure all women have access to quality reproductive health and family planning is inextricably linked to giving women the right to take advantage of that access once it is available in their communities. Ms. Alemu has mobilized organizations and established groups to stop early marriages, contributing significantly to halting more than 16,000 marriages over a two-year period. Pathfinder International, with Ms. Alemu's guidance, has provided more than 200 scholarships to keep these girls in school. She has supported the Ethiopian Women Lawyer's Association, the Ministry of Justice, and the Women's Affairs Department in their efforts to change and enforce laws against early marriage, marriage by abduction, female genital cutting, and gender-based violence. She has helped to develop a highly effective mentoring program that brings successful female leaders from small villages to similar villages, where they inspire young girls and their families as examples of how education can lead to income-earning potential and leadership in their communities.

Ms. Alemu has truly dedicated her life's work to the promotion of women's rights at every level, from the development of public policy to developing understanding and acceptance of change among both men and women at the grassroots level.

Story provided by Pathfinder International

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