Asenac Cherew

Ethiopian feminist who pioneered girls' education during the Haile Selassie era

Asenac Cherew (1930-1997) was an Ethiopian educator and activist who defied cultural norms to establish Ethiopia's first girls' boarding school in 1958. Born in Gondar to a family of traditional weavers, she secretly learned to read using her brothers' textbooks before attending Addis Ababa University - one of the first women to enroll in the country's only university.

In 1955, she founded the St. Mary's Girls School in Addis Ababa, implementing progressive policies like:

• Curriculum combining Amharic literature with STEM subjects
• Boarding facilities to enable rural students' attendance
• Teacher training programs focusing on female empowerment

Her school became a model for Ethiopia's education system, with 70% of its graduates later becoming teachers, nurses, and civil servants. Asenac's advocacy led to the 1963 Education Equality Act, which required schools to admit girls at equal rates to boys.

Her work was chronicled in the British Museum's 2018 exhibit on African women's history. The Asenac Education Network now operates 14 schools across Ethiopia, continuing her legacy of gender equity in education.