ETHIOPIA - The country that was never colonised.

"Women marched alongside men to the battle at Adwa 126 years ago. Just like their men-folk, Ethiopian women were ready to sacrifice themselves to prevent colonialists from sneaking into their country, thus forcing their children to live in servitude.

Empress Taytu Bitul is clearly a symbolic women she was not only a diplomat and stateswoman with resolve, but also an ingenious commandant versed in the art of war, a tactician par excellence. Taytu collected ten to twelve thousand women in the camp and issued water jugs to all of them, the army of another kind filled their jugs at the river and were ready to carry water to those who fought, wherever they stood. The Italian colonizers even appealed to her on the behalf of their commander as they started suffering from thirst.

“Women’s role at the battle of Adwa revealed the truth that nothing can be done without the participation of women and it would be an exemplary deed for today’s effort to recognize women’s participation all over the world. We generally hear that Ethiopia won the battle. But we ignore the fact that women played decisive role in the victory. There were ten-thousands of women who prepared their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons for the war in which they also took part. 

All in all women were the leading force behind the victory of Adwa, they were preparing food and water, providing medical care for the wounded and they were following the soldiers with a slogan of ‘freedom or death’. Lets not forget the role of our great grandmothers.”

Decades of years ago, some of our ancestors (Igbos) willingly drowned themselves in the historic “Igbo Landing.” This act by our ancestors is seen by many as an act of bravery and mass resistance against slavery.

The group of Igbos who were taken as slaves by the European slave traders revolted against the Europeans in the slave ship, and took control of their ship, rather than submitted to slavery, they drowned themselves and the rest is history.

According to history, as they were drowning, they were singing in Igbo (Mmụọ mmiri du anyị bia, mmụọ mmiri ga-edu anyi laa), a song that translates to: "The water spirit brought us. The water spirit will take us home.