This is not just a story, it’s a message to every girl who has ever been told “You can’t.”
Meaza Ashenafi, Ethiopia’s first female Chief Justice, transformed law and finance through EWLA and Enat Bank building a legacy empowers women across Africa. She grew up in a world where women were expected to stay silent, follow tradition, and accept inequality as destiny. Yet she rose not just for herself, but for every woman who walked into a courtroom unheard.
Born on July 25, 1964, in Assosa, a small town in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, Meaza did not come from privilege or political power. She came from determination. She pursued education with relentless focus and later enrolled at Addis Ababa University’s Faculty of Law, earning her LL.B. degree. Wanting to strengthen both her legal expertise and feminist worldview. She went on to complete a Master’s degree in International Relations and Gender Studies at the University of Connecticut, rare academic path for Ethiopian women at the time.
She returned to Ethiopia not to enjoy a comfortable career, but to fight for women who could not fight for themselves. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she served as a judge, where she witnessed women standing alone in courtrooms, unrepresented, unheard, and dismissed by a system built without them. Rather than walk away, she chose to rebuild the system.
One of her most pivotal contributions came when she was appointed as a legal adviser during the drafting of the 1995 Ethiopian Constitution. This was not just paperwork; it was the foundation of a new Ethiopia.
Her involvement ensured that women’s rights were written into the nation’s highest legal framework, not as a favor, but as law.
But she did not stop at policy. She co-founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association (EWLA), the first legal advocacy organization dedicated to defending Ethiopian women facing abuse, Gender-based violence (GBV), forced marriage, or exploitation. EWLA offered free legal aid, changed court outcomes, and rewired national conversations about justice and dignity.
Understanding that true freedom also required financial independence, Meaza went on to found Enat Bank, Ethiopia’s first women-founded financial institution. While men could access capital freely, women were often denied loans or dismissed as unqualified. Enat Bank challenged that bias and became a turning point for women’s economic empowerment in the country.
Then came the moment that made history.
In November 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed nominated her, and the House of People’s Representatives appointed Meaza Ashenafi as President of the Federal Supreme Court, making her the first woman to lead Ethiopia’s highest judicial office. It was not just an appointment. It was a declaration:
Women do not belong outside the system. They belong at the top of it.
As Chief Justice, she focused on strengthening criminal justice procedures, improving court efficiency, and ensuring constitutional disputes were resolved fairly. She was not the loudest leader; she was the most deliberate one. But rather than seek praise, she sought progress.
Her time as Chief Justice came during one of the most politically dynamic and challenging eras in Ethiopia’s recent history; a time of reformist momentum, rising expectations, and intense constitutional tensions. She faced institutional resistance, political complexity, and deeply rooted judicial inefficiencies. Yet she remained deliberate and unwavering, focusing on strengthening criminal procedures, improving court efficiency, and elevating constitutional accountability.
Though her term formally ended with her resignation on January 17, 2023, her leadership left behind not only reforms but a legacy of visibility. She proved that leadership is not about noise, it is about impact.
Today, Meaza Ashenafi stands as one of Africa’s most influential legal and feminist leaders. Over the years, Meaza has been recognized globally with honors such as:
- The Hunger Project Award (2003)
- Grassroots Ethiopian Women of Substance Africa Prize
- Nobel Peace Prize Nominee (2005)
- African Leadership Prize
- Women of Courage Award from the United States Government
- Her landmark legal case inspired the award-winning film Difret (2014), promoted by Angelina Jolie and winner at Sundance Film Festival.
Her life is proof that justice is not just written in laws, it is written in courage. From Assosa to the Supreme Court, Meaza Ashenafi did not simply break barriers; she dismantled them brick by brick so that countless girls would never have to face them again.
Her journey speaks to every young woman dreaming of change: Saying to her
You do not need permission to lead. Sometimes, you become the first, so that others will never be the last.
Umm E Habiba
Punjab, Pakistan
