Women First in Ethiopia
Friday, 16 March 2007
Concern was one of the main sponsors of Women First, a 5 kilometre run for women, that took place in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Sunday 1 April. Now in its fourth year, this annual event aims to celebrate the achievements of women in Ethiopia as well as highlighting and promoting women's causes.
Dignity
One of the key messages of the event was that, "Violence violates women's dignity". This theme, and others, was discussed by Ethiopia's 5,000 metre Olympic champion and Women First Ambassador Meseret Defar. Commenting on the success of Ethiopia's male and female athletes she said that "women in Ethiopia have to overcome far more problems [than their male counterparts] to achieve success in life". The full transcript of this interview is available here.
Popular event
The run drew eight thousand women from across the country, including some international entrants. It was won by 19 year old Asselefech Mergia.
