Maria Yusuf

Maria Munir Yusuf
Born
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
NationalityEthiopian
EducationUnity University (LLB)
OccupationActivist

Maria Munir Yusuf is founder and director of the Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development in Ethiopia.[1][2] She also co-founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association.[3]

Early life

Maria was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Harari parents. She became involved in charitable work while still in high school, and was able to raise relief funds for the Wollo famine in collaboration with the YWCA.[4][5]

Career

Maria began her career as a judge at the High Court of Ethiopia and following becoming a lawyer co-founded Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) in 1995 serving as board member with other Ethiopian women including Meaza Ashenafi and Atsedeweine Tekle.[6]

In 2003 Maria founded the "Organization against Gender Based Violence" in Ethiopia which would later be renamed the Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development (AWSAD) in 2009, the organization was the first to provide shelter exclusively for vulnerable women in the country.[7][8] In 2011 she met with Michelle Bachelet director of UN Women who paid a visit to AWSAD.[9]

Awards & accolades

Maria was presented with the AWiB's Women of Excellence award in 2015.[10]

References

  1. ^ Ethiopia Study Tour: Family Planning, Sexual and Reproductive Health, and International Development (PDF). UK all party parliamentary group on population, development and reproductive health. pp. 35–36.
  2. ^ Enkuberhan, Ruth (January 2018). An assessment of Integrated services from the Present and Past Shelter Users' Perspectives: the case of Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development (AWSAD) Shelter. Addis Ababa University. p. 21.
  3. ^ Cochrane, Logan. Pathways of Legal Advocacy for Change: Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (PDF). Routledge. p. 2.
  4. ^ Wagle, Mary-Jane (2014). Temsalet: Phenomenal Ethiopian Women. Tsehai Publishers. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-59907-117-6.
  5. ^ Meet Maria Munir. Ethiopiaid. 12 October 2021.
  6. ^ Presentation by the Ethiopia Network of Women Shelters. World Shelter Conference. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022.
  7. ^ Mengistu, Lemma. Experiences of Women Survivors of Gender-Based Violence with Surivor-Centred Approach, A case of Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development (AWSAD) Ethiopia (PDF). The University of Nairobi. pp. 25–26.
  8. ^ Ford, Liz (27 July 2016). Ethiopia's safe houses offer more than shelter to violence survivors – in pictures. {{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Ethiopia: Regaining Hope for Life. UN Women. February 2011.
  10. ^ Awarding Women's Rights Defenders. African Feminism. 31 October 2015.


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