Women and Social Movements, International | Alexander Street, part of Clarivate

Aberra, Rakeb Messele, 1974-

Occupation: Social/political activist, Consultant

Birth Place: ?d?s ?beba, ?d?s ?beba

Birth Date: 1974

Nationality: Ethiopia

Gender: Female

Biographical Sketch: Rakeb Messele’s passion is promoting respect for human rights and state-of-the-art support for victims of gender-based violence and children in conflict with the law. Trained in the law, Rakeb’s career has encompassed work to combat human trafficking, work to assure child protection, establishing a one-stop center for survivor of violence, and founding an organization focused on supporting victims of gender-based violence and helping to reintegrate children in conflict with the law in a positive manner. An expert on law and gender, Rakeb is a committed community volunteer, having served as a volunteer and as President of the Board of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, Vice-President of the Board of Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) and member of Action of Professionals’ Association for the People. Born in Addis Ababa in 1974, Rakeb completed her primary and secondary education at the Lycée Guebre-Mariam in Addis Ababa, and earned her first law degree, an LLB, from Addis Ababa University in 1996, and her second law degree, an LLM in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa, from the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 2000. After participating in a major conference in 2001 in Addis organized by the Office of Women’s Affairs and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on trafficking and Illegal migration, and then completing a 6-month internship in Geneva, Switzerland with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCRH), Rakeb joined IOM in Addis to work as the national coordinator of the counter-trafficking program in Ethiopia, developing a national country program focusing on prevention of trafficking and including a significant radio media campaign. Moving in 2004 after three years with IOM to the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), also based in Addis, as Manager of Technical Programs, Rakeb supervised a study commissioned by the UN on violence against children; and a project on the lack of a functioning birth registration system in the country and its implications for the civil rights of children. At ACPF, Rakeb worked to establish, in April 2005, the Children’s Legal Protection Centre (CLPC), providing legal aid, basic social services through referrals, trainings for professionals working with children and a public education campaign to inform the public about children’s rights; by the time she left ACPF, the center was staffed and had began its work. On leaving ACPF, Rakeb spent a year consulting for the Canadian Parliamentary Center, building capacity among parliamentarians serving in the House of People’s Representatives; she identified training needs, organized trainings and follow-up support. Meanwhile, she continued to work with organizations working for women and children. In 2007, Rakeb joined UNICEF as a gender-based violence and children’s justice expert, working on systems development, justice process simplification and developing comprehensive victim services through strengthening networking and referral processes. She worked to develop special protections for children in conflict with the law, supporting community-based services for children in conflict with the law and supporting the establishment of child-friendly benches in the courts and training professionals. In 2009, Rakeb left UNICEF and establish Play Therapy Africa with three former UNICEF colleagues, working on gender-based violence and justice for children, offering both legal and psychosocial support, targeting women and children. Play Therapy Africa’s goal is to establish a comprehensive system of support for gender-based violence victims and effective child protection systems for children in conflict with the law through cost-effective community-based programs. At the moment, their work is primarily outside Ethiopia in other African countries, although Ethiopia has a high rate of gender-based violence and a dire lack of appropriate services. However, a key achievement in Ethiopia, was working with the Ministry of Justice to established a one-stop center at the Gandhi Hospital, modeled on a South African prototype, offering comprehensive services including legal support, health care, shelter, education and financial support for survivors of sexual violence. Rakeb’s vision for Ethiopia is that it should be a land where human rights are respected and protected. She is especially proud of her work with UNICEF and the Ministry of Justice to help establish a one-stop center for survivors of gender-based violence at Gandhi Hospital, her work with the African Child Policy Center to establish the Children’s Legal Protection Center, and her work with the International Organization for Migration to develop Ethiopia’s country program on human trafficking. It has been a frustration for Rakeb to see good research languish and people who have received valuable training ending up doing little with their training. But she realizes that everything has its own process and hopes that in time research and training will result in action to produce real change. When she faces obstacles, she tries to look at positive results. For herself, her passion and vision really developed after she had completed her LLM. She credits her passion and her willingness to take risks for the success she has achieved so far. Rakeb admires people who have passion and vision and who excel in pursuing their goals. Her own vision is that she would like to see women’s and children’s rights respected as a fundamental part of Ethiopia’s culture. She hopes to be remembered as someone who contributed to that vision. Her advice to young women growing up in Ethiopia today: Have a vision and be passionate about it. Show more

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SECTION SEVEN: PARTICIPANTS' DISCUSSION PAPERS

written by Amie Bojang-Sissoho, fl. 1999, Agnus Nyoka Peter, fl. 1999, Yasmin Bacus Essop, fl. 1999, Trufat Bekele, fl. 1999, Sheila Kawomera, fl. 1999, Sandra Malwal, fl. 1999, Rindai Chipfunde, fl. 1999, Priscilla Julie, fl. 1999, Pamela Okille, fl. 1999, Laura Misigo, fl. 1999, Funmi Bammeke, fl. 1999, Fawzia M.A. Elnagi, fl. 1999, Emma Ssali, fl. 1999, Karidiatou Diallo, fl. 1999, Zeineb Bechedly, fl. 1999, Rym, Imene Ben Tili, fl. 1999, Georgia Maogeni Chimbani, fl. 1999, Lingalireni Mihowa, fl. 1999, Medina Wesseh, fl. 1999, Esther Eghobamien, fl. 1999 and Rakeb Messele Aberra, 1974-; in Feminist Leadership in Africa into the 21st Century: Report of the Third African Women's Leadership Institute, February 6th-26th 1999, Entebbe, Uganda: Regional Networking, Training and Information Forum for African Women (London, England: Akina Mama wa Afrika, 1999), 82-208

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SECTION SEVEN: PARTICIPANTS' DISCUSSION PAPERS

SECTION SEVEN: PARTICIPANTS' DISCUSSION PAPERS