By Our Correspondent

Twenty-two-year-old Abeba Amdu once dreamed of football stardom.

A rising striker for the 70 Enderta women’s team in Mekelle, she combined athletic talent with academic excellence in IT studies.

But her ambitions were shattered when Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict erupted in 2020, forcing her to the front lines as a fighter in the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF).

The experience left her deeply traumatized and skeptical about the possibility of lasting peace.

Abeba’s decision to fight was influenced by her family’s legacy.

Growing up in a household steeped in the history of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), she inherited a sense of duty and patriotism.

Yet the reality of war was harsh—constant hunger, lack of basic necessities, and exposure to violence left lasting scars.

“I lost everything,” she says, reflecting on her disrupted career and personal life.

Returning home did not ease the pain. Abeba struggled with isolation and post-traumatic stress, finding it difficult to resume her football training.

In response, she launched Wegahta, a mentorship project for teenage female footballers, aiming to guide the next generation despite financial challenges.

Her goal was not only career-oriented but also to create a sanctuary for healing.

Selam Hailu, a 30-year-old lawyer and mother, shares similar experiences.

She joined the Tigrayan forces in 2021 after witnessing her parents’ exhaustion and learning about atrocities committed during the war.

Life in the mountains of Tigray was grueling, compounded by sexism and harsh military discipline.

She witnessed younger female fighters coerced into relationships and often silenced, a reality she tried to challenge despite personal risk.

Rahwa Gebremedhin, a lecturer at Mekelle University, emphasizes the emotional toll.

Drawn into combat due to violence against women and civilians, she describes living with PTSD and struggling to regain normalcy in her professional and personal life.

All three women express a shared fear: that renewed conflict could erupt in Tigray.

Abeba warns, “Right now, I see fear everywhere—the fear of another conflict.

Negotiation, not combat, is the only path to real peace.”