Tribute to Bogaletch Gebre

Bogaletch Gebre was a global champion of women’s and girls’ rights fighting to end female genital mutilation.

On this week of Thanksgiving, we give thanks and pay tribute to a fearless defender of women’s rights whose ideas will forever inspire the WEEMA team.  Bogaletch “Boge” Gebre, an activist and scientist who led the global fight to end female genital mutilation (FGM), died this month at the age of 66. She was born and raised in a small village in the Kembata-Tembaro Zone, where WEEMA does much of its work.

Like many young Ethiopian girls growing up in Zato village, Boge fetched water and helped her mother with cooking and chores. When she was about 12 years old, she was “cut” (FGM) like most of the girls as it was the traditional custom in the area.  However, against tradition, she attended school in secret and proved to be an eager student. She later went on to study in Israel and the United States, earning her master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She also became a marathon runner, even after a car accident that doctors feared would prevent her from walking again.

In 1997, Boge returned to Ethiopia and together with her sister founded a Zato-based nonprofit group, KMG Ethiopia. KMG stands for Kembatti Mentti-Gezzimma-Tope, a phrase in the oral language of Kembatta that reflects the power women create when they work together.

Boge won the trust of communities by first providing practical services, such as the construction of bridges and wells that reduce the amount of time girls would have to spend fetching water. Slowly, she began encouraging dialogue on more complex and sometimes taboo topics such as education for girls, HIV/AIDS, and the kidnapping of young women into marriage.

Relying less on confrontation and more on what she described as ‘community conversations,’ she also fought successfully to reduce female genital mutilation. In areas where her group worked, FGM rates dropped to 3 percent in 2008, compared to 97 percent just eight years earlier.

“In the long run, stronger women create stronger communities,” Boge noted. “Stronger women create a stronger nation, and stronger women create a stronger Africa.” 

Boge’s extraordinary life was filled with challenges, fierce determination, and monumental accomplishments.  We are inspired by Boge’s work and stand proud alongside the women of Ethiopia.