WE ARE TIRED OF RAPE! The Voice of the Oromo Women

When Dr. Abiy Ahmed became the prime minister of Ethiopia, we rejoiced thinking that the EPRDF dictatorship of 27 years was ending, and equal opportunity and dignity was about to usher upon us. his multi-faceted rhetoric about freedom and community development resonated with our wishes until he ordered the EPRDF army to kill our people. Apparently, Abiy’s appointment was the political tactic designed to save the EPRDF rule from collapsing.

In 1948, after the Holocaust took place, leaders from nations around the world came together to establish the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document affirms that every person regardless of religion, race, gender or nationality, possesses the right to life, liberty, security, equal protection of the law, freedom of thought, speech, and religion. Though not always honored, the declaration provides moral norms for how people should be treated in international law and national constitutions.

These rights entitle us, the Oromo women, to dignity and obligate the EPRDF prime minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed to owe us respect. He cannot talk about human rights without taking responsibility for the lives his soldiers take on a daily basis. And he cannot talk about responsibilities without being part of the Oromo girls and women who are being raped and killed all over Oromia every day.

Since Dr. Abiy Ahmed announced that jailing and killing people can’t bring lasting peace and urged all opposition groups to disarm, the Oromo Liberation Front disarmed and returned to Finfinnee. Eventually, the Oromo youth who lost hope started protesting against Dr. Abiy’s hypocrisy all over Oromia. This led the prime minister to take deceitful and horrific military actions against the youth who lost hope and took refugee in west, central and southern Oromia forests. Since then, the military has been raping little girls and women, burn people alive and kill peaceful residents, not to mention the burning of hundreds of motorcycles owned by business people in small towns of Oromia.

The military raids, ordered by Dr. Abiy Ahmed, often involved the use of some sort of chemicals and widespread human rights violations. Of course, these tragedies remained unreported. Yet, knowing full well that these atrocities have become a regular day to day practice of his military, Dr. Abiy Ahmed continues to boast about the equal rights and the peace the country is enjoying.

The media outlets controlled by the EPRDF often reported sounding as if these illogical, contradictory and evasive actions are great achievements.

But we the Oromo women, who gave birth to the sons who are shot to death by the military grief every day and suffer from the gang rapes performed upon us. While this is going on, Dr. Abiy has the audacity to appoint many women to a high governmental position to show the world that we are represented and to make us feel that our sphere of usefulness is being enlarged.

Amid this miscellany of lies, deceptions, political dramas, and mischiefs, our suffrage is buried under the height and the depth of the EPRDF utter devotion to political dominance.

The human right violations conducted by the EPRDF army, the killing, torturing, raping, imprisoning, burning people in their own house in southern, western and now in central Oromia are part of EPRDF’s long term plan of staying in power. That’s why Dr. Abiy Ahmed refused to negotiate with the Oromo youth whom he labeled as a lawless group that needs to be destroyed at any cost.

To scare and force the population to submit to its dictatorial rule, the EPRDF army mutilated the bodies of the raped women, have cut their throat, slaughtered peaceful people, have burned down houses and properties, looted animals, raped children and have burned the dead bodies in masses. The civilians in the affected areas have continued to flee their homes and properties. This is the stark and glaring tenor of Dr. Abiy’s cruelty that demands the attention of the world.

Hence, please listen to the voices of the raped and killed Oromo girls and women. Each of their cries are competing for a listening ear.

The Oromo Women for freedom!