Kolla Women Liberation Collective / Ethiopia Safe House

Kolla Shara village, Arba Minch Zuria district, Ethiopia

Members: Amara Tesfaye (28 years), Selam Liya (25 years), Tadesse Jemila (24 years), Berhe Lema (29 years), Girima Asfaw Sisay (21 years) 

Why We Are Humanist

We are a group of young women who are defiantly fighting the harem women culture in our villages. Harem culture is when women are married off to a man and are kept in the house never to see the daylight and not permitted to interact with other people. We can't work, we can't learn any skills and we also can't get further education to make ourselves value to our society.

All the women in the groups are currently divorced and fled their matrimonial home. We resented the men they had married us to, we renounced our faith and we now find much greater fulfillment in being secular humanists and productive individuals. Humanism enriches our lives by allowing us know our worth, dignity and rights as free individuals. Humanism taught us that as women were are free to determine the kind of life that we want to live and that we can live to our full potential if we work hard and smart.

We are dedicated to do this. We want to support ourselves and other young ladies with critical reasoning education, vocational skills and good sexual education so that the quality of life that we live can be hugely transformed.