Malka Debora

Ethiopian educator who pioneered women's literacy programs in the horn of Africa during the mid-20th century.

Malka Debora (1915-1998) transformed education access in Ethiopia by creating the first women's literacy cooperatives in Addis Ababa. Starting in 1943, she organized clandestine night classes in her home, eventually establishing the Debora Literacy Network that trained 300+ female educators by 1960. Her <《Silent Voices: Ethiopian Women's Education》 (1965) exposed systemic barriers to female education. Despite political upheavals, her programs persisted through the 1974 revolution, forming the basis for Ethiopia's 1987 Education Act. The UNESCO Malka Debora Initiative now replicates her methods across 15 African nations. Her innovative use of local Amharic dialects in teaching materials predated modern multilingual education strategies by decades.