February 28, 2023

The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are the most prestigious awards in the entertainment industry. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decides to give recognition to breakthroughs in film. The Oscars are the oldest awards ceremony with the 1st Academy Awards held in 1929. The ceremony was first broadcast on the radio in 1930, and since 1953 they have been publicly televised. Since then 3,140 Oscars have been awarded. This year’s award ceremony will be held on March 12th. 

Meaza Ashenafi: A lawyer, legal activist, and civil rights advocate. The first female chief justice of the Ethiopian Supreme Court and the founder of the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyer Association who addressed severe violations plaguing women and girls. She helped draft the current Ethiopian constitution, which for the first time, ensured women were represented in the national constitution.

Glanis Changachirere: a Zimbabwean women’s rights activist and the founding director of the Institute for Young Women Development, an organization promoting the political participation of young women in Zimbabwe’s marginalized communities. She became an activist after growing up in a deeply patriarchal and rural province and observing the severe barriers facing women who attempt to pursue an education.