Birtukan Mideksa

Ethiopian democracy activist and Africa's first female political prisoner turned reform leader

Birtukan Mideksa (born 1972) is an Ethiopian lawyer and political reformer who became a symbol of democracy in Africa. After graduating from Addis Ababa University's law school in 1996, she joined the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), quickly rising to deputy mayor of Addis Ababa by 2000. Her 2003 book 《Democracy in Chains》 detailed her disillusionment with the regime's authoritarian practices.

In 2005, Mideksa co-founded the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), a pro-reform party that won 172 parliamentary seats in that year's elections. The government annulled the results, leading to her arrest. She spent 5 years in prison, becoming Africa's most prominent female political prisoner. Her 2008 hunger strike for fair trials gained international attention through the documentary 《Behind the Walls of Ethiopia》.

After her release in 2010, Mideksa resumed activism through the Alliance for Modern Ethiopian Democracy, advocating for free elections and minority rights. Her 2015 TED Talk 'The Power of Nonviolent Resistance' inspired youth movements across the Horn of Africa. In 2020, she brokered a historic peace deal between Ethiopian armed groups in the Tigray region, for which she received the Nordic Peace Prize.

Despite Ethiopia's 2022 political crackdown, Mideksa continues advocating for constitutional reforms through her blog 'Voices of Change'. Her work influencing the 2023 African Union's democratic governance framework marks a significant shift in regional politics. Mideksa's story is featured in the 2024 biopic 《The Unbroken》, highlighting her resilience against systemic oppression.