When my sister Lella and her two friends – all TikTok influencers in Ethiopia – started the Fishkaye Dimtse movement last year, they were protesting something I had always felt walking the streets of Addis Ababa: men’s entitlement over our bodies. Fishkaye means my whistle in Amharic, and Dimtse means my voice. Their call to action was simple but radical: if you’re catcalled in the streets, blow the whistle and draw attention.
This act was revolutionary in two ways. First, it aimed to break the silence, so that women and girls no longer had to face harassment alone. They could call out their harassers, and use their voice. In a culture that stifles women from speaking about sexual harm and is quick to blame them, this was a powerful pushback.
