Kiya Gezahegne is a feminist researcher and lecturer specializing in migrant studies, adolescent research and gender policy. She is passionate about harnessing the power of research to drive more supportive policies for women, girls, youth and refugees across Ethiopia. Kiya currently serves as the in-country qualitative researcher for Gender and Adolescents: Global Evidence (GAGE), and also contributes to the Ethiopian National Women’s Policy. 

In this special World Refugee episode, Kiya shares her insights into the Ethiopian refugee experience (including hardships specific to women and girls), the importance of adolescent empowerment in driving nationwide change, and the role of research in transforming gender equity paradigms nationwide.

Highlights:

• How GAGE, the world’s largest study on gender in adolescence, is working to empower youth in developing countries
• What inspired Kiya to specialize in refugee research and elevating the struggles of migrants
• Why so many Ethiopian migrants are fleeing poverty, ethnic conflict and political repression to seek refuge in the Middle East, Europe and the States – and how their destinations are influenced by an underground industry of migration “brokers”
• The most common hardships faced by women along these migration routes, including sexual violence, unwanted pregnancies, physical abuse and financial pressures from the family they left behind
• The importance of adolescent-specific research in driving nationwide change
• Kiya’s work with the Ethiopian National Women’s Policy and its impact on gender equity

Connect:

Website: www.gage.odi.org 

Linked In: Kiya Gezahegne 

Bio:

Kiya Gezahegne is an experienced feminist researcher and lecturer based at the Social Anthropology at the Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. She has been involved in ethnographic research on a range of adolescent related areas including education, health and nutrition, voice and agency, psycho social well-being, economic empowerment and bodily integrity. Her other research interests include international migration, refugee studies, gender policy, religious identity, borderland conflict, marginalization and slavery in the contemporary world. She also contributes to policy processes including the analysis of the Ethiopian National Women’s Policy. She has authored several publications related to adolescents including recent publication on "Adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Ethiopia and Rwanda: a qualitative exploration of the role of social norms", among others. She is in-country qualitative researcher for Gender and Adolescents: Global Evidence (GAGE) project run by ODI (Oversees Development Institute).

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