Calendar & events
Founder's Engagement with Lady Justice Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu
- Venue:
- MS Team Meeting
- Event date:
- 29 November 2024
- Time:
- 09:00:00 - 11:00:00
- Contact:
- Dr LB Mhlongo
- Email:
- mhlonlb@unisa.ac.za
INVITATION
Professor Puleng LenkaBula, Principal and Vice-Chancellor together with Professor Mpfariseni Budeli-Nemakonde, Executive Dean of the College of Law cordially invite you to the engagement with the Lady Justice Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu, Former President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia
ABRIDGED BIOGRAPHY OF LADY JUSTICE MEAZA ASHENAFI MENGISTU, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL SUPREME COURT OF ETHIOPIA
Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu is the first woman in Ethiopian history to become the President of the Federal Supreme Court (Chief Justice). This milestone is however, not the only accomplishment that makes her a pioneer woman in law. She is well-known as a women’s rights’ advocate who has made immense contributions, among other things, as the co-founder of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association (EWLA) and founder of women’s bank (Enat Bank). Both organisations were the first of their kind in Ethiopia.
In 1981, at age 17, Mengistu enrolled in the Faculty of Law at Addis Ababa University. She was the only woman in the class of fifty students and earned a Bachelor of Law degree in 1986. From 1986 to 1989, she worked for the Ministry of Trade. Afterwards, she became a Federal High Court Criminal Bench Judge and remained in that position until 1994.
In 1995, Mengistu co-founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association (EWLA) to provide legal defence to women who could not afford it. Her transformative leadership as the Executive Director for eight years was instrumental in propelling the cause of gender equality in Ethiopia.
In 1996, Mengistu served as the attorney in the high profile case of a 14-year-old girl who was enroute home from school when she was abducted by a posse of men seeking to procure a bride for a would-be husband. The girl fatally shot the would-be husband, who had beaten and raped her. Mengistu, in support of the girl, took the case pro bono to demonstrate that even though abduction into marriage is one of Ethiopia’s oldest traditions, the girl had acted in self-defence. Mengistu successfully defended the girl, and consequently, the case led to the government outlawing the Ethiopian custom of kidnapping girls for wedlock.
In 2005, Mengistu enrolled at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where she received a scholarship from UNESCO for postgraduate studies. Two years later, she received a Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Gender Studies from the same University. In 2011, she began serving as an adviser to the Gender and Social Policy Development Department with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). In 2012, she was named by the UN as a Women’s Human Rights Advisor, followed in 2015 by her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2018, Meaza Mengistu was appointed President of the Federal Supreme Court by the House of People’s Representatives (the Parliament) in Addis Ababa, where she enhanced coordination among Ethiopia’s justice sector institutions, particularly in criminal justice administration and constitutional disputes.
Mengistu’s awards include Avance Media’s 100 Most Influential African Women. She also received the African Leadership Prize, the Hunger Project Award, and the Women of Courage for Ethiopia Award from the United States Government.
In commemoration of the African women’s day, Meaza Ashenafi was featured on 31 July 2024 by Forbs Africa, as one of Five Trailblazing African Women.
Meaza Ashenafi is invited at national and international fora to share her experience in the promotion and protection of the rights of women, women’s economic empowerment, rule of law, administration of justice as well as institution building and leadership.
Meaza Ashenafi has an LLB from Addis Ababa University and an M.A in International Relations and Gender Studies from the University of Connecticut in the United States. She is married and is a mother of two girls.