The result of it all is not as intended. Yes, there are those who lend support to the regime either on grounds of ethnic affiliation or on grounds that they are reduced to be economically dependent on the regime in their very own country. And yes, there are those who are scared of being assertive and took refuge in pursuit of life styles that are perceived to be “cool,” those who live aspiration of hedonism and all those elements of cultural conquest projected “modern” and desirable. However, there are those who reject that and dared to stand up to resist repression.
Woyineshet the Model girl
Woyinset Molla is a model girl – obviously not model in the sense of the fashion industry. she is the new “cool.” She is a model activist who defended her conscience. She is a model girl who is not distracted by any thing else and obsessed with what matters most freedom and her country. Not naive to give hand to the enslaving cultural conquest which comes in the form of “modernity.”
Not just that. Woyinshet practically rejected the reality that politics in Ethiopia is a dangerous business, what the regime wanted to project, not just for those getting involved in it but even for families. The regime is extremely unpredictable. Yet, she seem to have understood that silence in the face of repression has irreversible long term consequence for Ethiopia.
Woyinshet Molla is a very active member of Semayawi party, Amharic for Blue Party, relatively new opposition party in the country.
For about three years now every Friday, Ethiopian Muslims stage peaceful protest after their Friday prayer demanding for their constitutional right for freedom of religion be respected and the release of their incarcerated leaders. And they have paid in life for that too.
Yesterday was one of those days. They were interrupted in the middle of their prayers in the premises of The Grand Anwar Mosque, in Merkato neighborhood of Addis Ababa – where Woyinset Molla lives. Many were brutally beaten.
Woyineshet is not a Muslim. But she believes that the demands of Ethiopian Muslims is legal and constitutional. And she was not intimidated to show up in the middle of brutal attack against Ethiopian Muslims and show her solidarity. She was not assigned to do so by her party. She did it out of her own conviction to stand up for justice.
Already known for security forces for her unflinching stance against repression, a plain cloth Security who was reportedly videotaping the incident from a nearby building spotted Woyinshet close by the scene of incident. He did not take time to get her and attack her brutally. Apparently, other security forces had to give him a hand to attack Woyinshet and they did not leave her alone even after they unleashed brutal attack on her. She is jailed.
According to reports on Social Media, Woyinshet appeared in a closed court earlier today (it is not common for courts in Addis Ababa to hear cases on weekends). It is expected that TPLF government would charge Woyinshet, who is in fact a victim of state terror, with “terrorism.”
She is reportedly seen with big stitched cut on the left side of her head and with broken and bandaged arm. Worse, ruling party cadres on social media are trying to dehumanize, by way of Scoffing, youth with a defiance spirit to repression and Woyinshet is not spared either. Ostensibly, it is meant to be part psychological component of repression. It does not seem to be productive, though.
What the regime totally forgot is that that repression could have undesired consequence. It can have the very opposite effect of silencing and depoliticizing the Youth. In fact, it is evident that the more the regime is deepening repression the more it is politicizing the youth. And there is the awareness that the intention of the regime is sinister in the long term.
For sure, they will face many millions of the likes of the model Woyinshet in the near future and in many forms actually. They still do not get it that it is unthinkable to sustain ethnic based aspiring supremacist regime.