Woineshet Zebene Negash, also known as Woineshet Zebene, is a

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

victim whose case was responsible for a change in Ethiopian law. She was the first Ethiopian ever legally to challenge a bridal abduction. Traditionally in rural Ethiopia, if a man wants to marry a woman but does not have the money to pay a

bride price Bride price, bride-dowry (Mahr in Islam), bride-wealth, or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dow ...

for her, he kidnaps and rapes her, after which she is expected to marry him because she is considered "ruined" and will probably be unable to find anyone else willing to marry her. When Woineshet was 13 she was kidnapped and raped. The leader of the men who participated in this (Aberew Jemma Negussi) was briefly arrested, but then released on bail, at which point he kidnapped Woineshet again and held her for over a month until she managed to escape, but only after he had forced her to sign a marriage certificate. At this time, Ethiopian law stated that a man could not be charged with rape if he married the victim. On July 22, 2003, Aberew Jemma Negussie was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment without parole for kidnapping and rape, and his four accomplices were each sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment without parole, making Woineshet's case the first case in which accomplices were also charged and convicted for kidnapping. However, just four months later, on December 4, 2003, the High Court of the

Arsi Zone Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone, ...

sitting on appeal overturned the decision of the lower court and released the five men from prison. On May 9, 2005, the new Ethiopian Penal Code came into effect, which removed the marital exemption for kidnapping and rape, largely due to a campaign by

Equality Now Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Through a combination of regional partnerships, community mobilization and legal advocacy the or ...

inspired by Woineshet's case. On March 10, 2016, Africa's human rights-focused Union court based in

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

ruled that "Ethiopia had violated the girl's rights to equality, dignity and a fair trial, among others," ordering the state to pay Woineshet $150,000 as compensation.Ethiopia to pay $150,000 to raped girl - BBC News
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References

Ethiopian victims of crime Women's rights in Ethiopia Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Violence against women in Ethiopia {{ethiopia-bio-stub