Addis Ababa, March 7, 2020 (FBC) – Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has congratulated women on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day.
Read the Prime Minister’s full statement below:
We celebrate International Women’s Day because it is a Day for all of us. Particularly, the day is unique for us, Ethiopians, as we are standing on the price that our mothers had paid. When we say Ethiopia is a country that has lived being feared and revered, we mean that there were and are mothers and sisters that made her be feared and revered.
Our mothers and sisters had paid the price on four fronts for Ethiopia to firmly abide in liberty. They created heroes and made rations suit for heroes. They had taken care of the heroes. They had themselves fought bravely and prevailed. Our mothers and sisters are the ones who created heroes/heroines for this country through telling their children stories of courage, teaching them the dignity found in being a sacrifice for one’s country, emboldening them not to fear and through praising heroes/heroines. God made Ethiopians. Our mothers and sisters made heroes/heroines out of Ethiopians.
Our mothers and sisters deploy heroes by preparing rations and armaments. Apart from that, they prepare rations and armaments by being a rear at battles. There is no Ethiopian victory recorded that had no rear support of our mothers and sisters. On top of preparing rations, and armaments for the army fighting, they treat and take care of wounded soldiers. They bury the dead. Moreover, they take arms, gird their loins and involve in fights. They lead and deploy army; they also fight and defeat the enemy.
Such mothers and sisters do exist today. They are unique gifts of this country. As long as these mothers and sisters are, the country will continue to give birth to heroes/heroines. They will guard the dignity of Ethiopia in all fields, everywhere, in whatsoever circumstances and in any challenging time. They had seen their mothers favoring their children above themselves. So, their children would favor their country above themselves. Our mothers and sisters know that war hurts women most. That is why they always prioritize peace, forgiveness, and love. If there is anyone that trespasses these, they tell him/her ‘see you at the front’.
I believe that the country that our mothers fought for in four fronts and made it be revered, will also be able to abide in dignity by defeating its four enemies: poverty, backwardness, division, and conflict. As we celebrate March 8, I hope that it will be a day in which our mothers and sisters will be revived again to make Ethiopia continue to live in dignity and freedom with its multinational unity and sovereignty intact.
Honor shall be to the mothers and sisters that have been protecting the freedom and sovereignty of Ethiopia in all fields they involved in!