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Yikono

Types	voluntary association
Aim	women's rights
Location	Tigray Region
Country	Ethiopia

Yikono (Tigrinya for enough) is a grassroots women's rights group based in Tigray Region in Ethiopia that is opposed to gender-based violence.

Creation

The creation of Yikono was triggered by a November 2019 town hall meeting in Addi Daero in which a woman spoke to the audience about a rape by a policeman 14 years earlier. Two other women claimed at the same meeting that the policeman had had sex with them, promising to marry ethem. A protest march to support the victims of violence against women was held in Addi Daero, stimulating social debate through Tigray Region. Mekelle youths organised a similar march in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray Region, calling for government and NGO actions to prevent violence against women. An online social media campaign together with the march evolved into Yikono, meaning enough in Tigrinya.

Leadership

Co-founders of Yikono include Weyni Abraha, Tsidena Abadi and Helen Tedros. Yikono participants include both women and men.

Aims

Yikono aims at gender equality by creating awareness of violence against women and by helping women at risk to re-establish their lives and become financially independent.

Methods

Yikono campaigning is mostly carried out in Tigrinya, the main language spoken in Tigray Region and a major language of Eritrea, discussing sexual harassment and sexual violence issues in the context of the local culture.

Actions and analyses

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia, Yikono helped to establish emergency shelters for vulnerable women. One shelter, for up to 50 women and children, was set up on 27 April 2020 by Yikono in cooperation with Mekelle University, the Tigray branch of Organisation for Social Services, Health & Development (OSSHD) and Midre'Genet Elderly Care Centre. As of 9 May, thirteen women and eight children were staying at the shelter. The women were commercial sex workers, cleaners and cooks working in bars and hotels who were unable to pay their rent due to a state of emergency in Tigray Region that banned bars and night clubs.

In February 2021 during the Tigray War, Weyni Abraha of Yikono was interviewed by BBC News on sexual violence in the Tigray War, which she argued was being used as a weapon of war. She stated,

Many women were raped in Mekelle. This is being done purposely to break the morale of the people, threaten them and make them give up the fight.

— Weyni Abraha, February 2021, on BBC News

References

1. ^ Berehe, Mehret (2020-03-05). "#Yikono Campaign Gives Ethiopian Women The Language to Challenge Violence". African Feminism. Archived from the original on 2021-02-13. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
2. ^ "Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: 'I lost my hand when a soldier tried to rape me'". BBC News. 2021-02-15. Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
3. ^ Gebreamlak, Hagos (2020-05-09). "Temporary shelter for homeless opens in Meqelle". Addis Fortune. Archived from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
4. ^ "A Call For Peace: Helping Ethiopian, Tigray Refugee Women & Girls in Crisis". UN Women USA. 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-02-21.

v t e Tigray war
Background	History History of Western Tigray Welkait question 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia Eritrean–Ethiopian War border conflict Elections in Ethiopia 2005 election / violence 2014–16 Oromo protests 2016–18 state of emergency Resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn Prelude Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present) 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit Tripartite Agreement Formation of the Prosperity Party COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia Hachalu Hundessa riots 2020 Tigray regional election
Timeline	Northern Command attacks Battle of Humera Asmara rocket attacks Mekelle offensive Operation Alula TDF–OLA joint offensive 2021–2022 Ethiopian state of emergency ENDF National Unity Offensive Battle of Shire
Impact	Reactions 2021 Ethiopian general election Spillover Sudan 2022 al-Shabaab invasion of Ethiopia
Peace process	Overview Ethiopia–Tigray peace agreement Interim Administration
Groups	Key actors Ethiopian federal government  Eritrea Involvement  Tigray / TPLF  Amhara  Afar Institutions Ethiopian National Defense Force Transitional Government of Tigray Tigray Defense Forces Eritrean Defence Forces Militias Fano UFEFCF Human rights organisations EHRC Inquiry Board Non-state EHRCO ERCS HRCE Seb Hidri Yikono
Human rights	Casualties Casualties of the Tigray war Discrimination Ethnic profiling Internment camps War crimes Massacres 2020 Mai Kadra Humera Adigrat Zalambessa Dengelat 1st Wukro Hitsats 1st Mekelle Axum Goda Hagere Selam Ziban Gedena Gijet 2021 Bora Debano Mahbere Dego 2nd Wukro Kola Tembien Zamr Gira Aras Guh Togoga Galikoma Chenna Kobo 2nd Mekelle Kombolcha 2022 Dedebit Berhale 3rd Mekelle Adi Daero Sexual violence Hawzen Destruction of Heritage Aksum Debre Damo Negash mosque Predictions of a genocide in Ethiopia Refugees/IDPs Hamdayet (Ethiopians) Refoulement of Eritrean refugees Shire Food Famine in northern Ethiopia (2020–present) Investigations ACHPR Tigray investigation EHRC–OHCHR Tigray investigation ICHREE
Category / Commons

• Feminist organisations in Ethiopia