Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu, a human rights activist, broke barriers in Ethiopia when, in 2018, she became the first woman to hold the position of President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia. Mengistu was born on July 25, 1964, in the Asosa Zone of Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, to Ashenafi Mengistu, former city mayor, and Askalech Tegegne. Meaza has eight siblings.
In 1981, at age 17, Mengistu enrolled in the Faculty of Law at Addis Ababa University. She was the only woman in the class of fifty students and earned a Bachelor of Law degree in 1986. From 1986 to 1989, she worked for the Ministry of Trade. Afterward, she became a Federal High Court Criminal Bench Judge and remained there until 1994.
In 1995, Mengistu co-founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association (EWLA) to provide legal defense to women who couldn’t afford it. Her transformative leadership as the Executive Director for eight years was instrumental in propelling the cause of gender equality in Ethiopia.
In 1996, Mengistu served as the attorney in the high-profile case of a 14-year-old girl who was en route home from school when she was abducted by a posse of men seeking to procure a bride for a would-be husband. The girl fatally shot the would-be husband, who had beaten and raped her. Mengistu, in support of the girl, took the case pro bono to demonstrate that even though abduction into marriage is one of Ethiopia’s oldest traditions, the girl acted in self-defense. Mengistu successfully defended the girl, and the case led to the government outlawing the Ethiopian custom of kidnapping girls for wedlock.
In 2005, Mengistu enrolled at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where she received a scholarship from UNESCO for postgraduate studies. Two years later, she received a Master of Arts in International Relations in Gender Studies from the University. In 2011, she began serving as an adviser to the Gender and Social Policy Development Department with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). In 2012, she was named by the UN as a Women’s Human Rights Advisor, followed in 2015 by her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2018, Meaza Mengistu was appointed President of the Federal Supreme Court by the House of People’s Representatives (the Parliament) in Addis Ababa. There, she enhanced coordination among Ethiopia’s justice sector institutions, particularly in criminal justice administration and constitutional disputes.
Mengistu’s awards include Avance Media’s 100 Most Influential African Women. She also received the African Leadership Prize, the Hunger Project Award, and the Women of Courage for Ethiopia Award from the United States Government.
The Honorable Meaza Ashenafi Mengistu is the spouse of Dr. Araya Asfaw, a professor of physics and former dean of the science faculty at Addis Ababa University. They have two daughters, Mena Asfaw and Senait Asfaw.