Unlocking Opportunities for Civil Societies to Catalyze Women's Empowerment and Peace Building in Ethiopia

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) play a key role in promoting women’s equal and meaningful participation in peace processes and peacebuilding. A context assessment on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Situation in Ethiopia produced by UN Women in November 2022, highlighted that an increased number of CSOs working on the WPS field is an opportunity for women’s rights to be further improved and realized. UN Women aims to support the promotion and implementation of the WPS agenda and the effective participation of women in conflict prevention, resolution, and peace building to create a cohesive, just, inclusive, and democratic society.

UN Women Ethiopia has awarded small grants to CSOs to support their work and to facilitate a flourishing civil society field. Ethiopian CSOs have insufficient knowledge on the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda and general operational capacity after a decade of strong legal restrictions that was lifted after political reform in 2018. One of the CSOs that were awarded small grants by UN Women Ethiopia is New Millennium Women Empowerment Organization (NMWEO), a non-governmental humanitarian and peacebuilding organization dedicated to empowering women, girls, and youth across six Ethiopian regions—Tigray, Amhara, Afar, Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Addis Ababa—through various programs focused on capacity building, advocacy, leadership development, and humanitarian interventions.

Under the support of UN Women, NMWEO embarked on a project titled "Support the Organizational Development of Civil Society Organizations Working in the Area of Peace Building, Conflict Resolution, and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda." This initiative aimed to fortify NMWEO's institutional capacity, furthering the WPS agenda and fostering the effective participation of women in conflict prevention, resolution, and peacebuilding to create a cohesive, just, inclusive, and democratic society.

Ms. Tigist Alebachew, Founder and Executive Director of NMWEO, highlights the project's success in developing the organization's Resource Mobilization and Fundraising Strategies, "With UN Women Ethiopia's support, we've developed a comprehensive strategy document that has revolutionized our approach to resource mobilization, fundraising, and communicating best practices to stakeholders. This strategic framework has enabled us to advocate more effectively against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), train health workers on how to work hand in hand in providing psycho-social support to survivors of GBV, economically empower survivors, and build sustainable relationships and partnerships with donors and partners."

The project's influence extends to NMWEO's visibility and collaborative efforts as Ms. Tigist explains, "Our enhanced profile has led to partnerships with the Ethiopian Institute of Peace, the Institute of Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University, and other organizations, allowing us to work in collaboration on a call of concept note ‘Strengthening the capacity of peace building CSOs in Ethiopia’ from the European Union. Our partnership with UN Women Ethiopia has also paved the way for joint humanitarian responses with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Tigray and Benishangul-Gumuz; the northern and southern regions of Ethiopia.”

Ms. Tigist also noted the capacity-building efforts on the WPS Agenda have enriched the staff and board members' understanding of women's pivotal role in peace and security, inspiring greater female participation in peace initiatives, "The training has enhanced my boldness as the directress of NMWEO to forge new partnerships and reach out to institutions that I thought were inaccessible."

Empathy for Life Integrated Development Association (ELiDA) is another CSO awarded a small grant by UN Women, to further its important cause. As a women led CSO, ELiDA is at the forefront of the work in combating early marriage, female genital mutilation, and other harmful traditional practices. Their mission extends to the economic, social, and political empowerment of women, girls, and youth, alongside advocating for girls’ education, women's economic empowerment, and engaging in peacebuilding and conflict management across Addis Ababa, Amhara, and Afar regions.

As part of the project, ELiDA’s staff, board members and partners were provided with a series of training workshops and capacity building on enhancing institutional systems and processes, programmatic capacities, organizational system thinking and financial management system. These initiatives have led to a comprehensive update of ELiDA's financial management system, key policies and manuals, empowering ELiDA to advocate more effectively for the WPS agenda, marking a significant progress in their ongoing journey towards gender equality.

Regarding the contribution of the training on social media, Ms. Zinet Yimer, Co-founder and Executive Directress of ELiDA, shares insights on the transformative impact of the training on the organization's digital presence, “The comprehensive training covering; identifying audience, advocacy, messaging and brand management has been instrumental in elevating our visibility to partners and donors. It ot only it has expanded our network, but also attracted collaborations with notable organizations such as African Women Development Fund, The Malala Foundation, the UN Trust Fund To End Violence Against Women and Care Ethiopia and Care France, following the practical application of our training."

Ms. Zenit expresses gratitude for the material support from UN Women Ethiopia, "The generous provision of essential equipment like laptops and a photocopier machine has significantly strengthened our operational capabilities," she stated. "Thanks to this support, ELiDA is now better equipped to advocate for the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, backed by a robust institutional capacity.

Working with UN Women enabled NMWEO and ELiDA to engage with other international organizations as well as to access grants of $940,000 and $870,000 respectively. UN Women Ethiopia implemented the "Support the Organizational Development of Civil Society Organizations Working in the Area of Peace Building, Conflict Resolution, and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda" project funded by Irish Aid from April – September 2022 to provide support via development or strengthening the institutional capacity of CSOs working to promote the women, peace, and security agenda.