iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Happy to share the latest edition of a research project I worked on together with a colleague, focusing on digital violence in Ethiopia. (highlights the patterns of harassment, surveillance, outing, and stigma against queer individuals.) genderit.org/feminist-tal...

genderit.org

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Discounted registration is not compensation. If an organization truly value art as advocacy, healing, and change, they need to value the artists behind it with fair pay. Isn’t compensation equity in practice? How do you ask for art projects and treat artists as customers?

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

I've been engaged in a research project for over a year with an incredible research partner I'm deeply grateful for. Our work focuses on online violence against queer individuals in Ethiopia. Our reflection has finally been published: genderit.org/index.php/fe...

genderit.org

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Picked my favorites 💐 ✨ Tulips ✨ Dalton Farms, NJ

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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Thanks to my friend Harriet for pointing out that the women went to Christ's tomb and saw he was not there, the angels showed up to describe what happened, & the women then told the apostles, who dismissed them. A Biblical account of women not being believed.

The Women going to the Sepulchre, 1912, Robert Anning Bell
Painting of women in blue garments walking leftward, one woman, and then five behind her, on a flat plain, hazy sky ....

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

I can’t believe I am actually running my first marathon this Sunday 🎧🏃🏾‍♀️✨

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Why queer archive? Because queer stories shall start with queerness not queerphobia.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

All this hate crime is deeply embedded in the narrative of keeping Ethiopia safe and holy, driven by fear based rhetoric that motivates people to partake in this hate. (Years of misinformation and disinformation + propaganda that are still available in different social media platforms) /End

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

August 2023 For months, an organized campaign targeting queer communities unfolded on TikTok, involving doxing (those assumed to be gay), threats, mob justice calls, and misinformation, with participation from government officials, religious leaders, influencers, and users.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

March 2022 <<ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ዝም አንልም: ትውልድን ከግብረ ሰዶም እንታደግ>> org (We will not be silent about Ethiopia. Let us save generations from Gibre Sodom) hosted an event to raise awareness about homosexuality and how Eth can prevent its spread. youtu.be/SEXdSH6qAJA?...

youtu.be

ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ዝም አንልም

YouTube video by ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ዝም አንልም (Sile Ethiopia Zim Anilim)

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

June 2019 Toto tours to Ethiopia (US based LGBTQ+ tour operator announcement on their visit to Ethiopia which included Lalibela Church) A press conference was held by anti gender activists stating “they should not come or they will be attacked.” religionnews.com/2019/06/14/e...

religionnews.com

Ethiopia tour for gay, lesbian travelers in jeopardy amid backlash from faith groups

CHICAGO (RNS) — A trip to Ethiopia planned by a Chicago-based tour company for gay and lesbian travelers is in jeopardy amid a backlash primarily from religious groups in the African country, where ho...

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

July 2015 Former President Barack Obama’s visit sparked a widespread rumor that his visit aimed to discuss decriminalization of homosexuality. Comments on Dr Tedros Adhanom’s post speak volume about that time.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

June 2012 Conference entitled “Homosexuality and its Associated Social Disastrous Consequences” was held at the AU. Featured a research finding that “homosexuality is a result of inappropriate upbringing and linked it to STDs, HIV, and severe psychological disorders.” 76crimes.com/2012/06/15/e...

76crimes.com

Ethiopia balks at Western pressure for LGBT rights

Add Ethiopia to the list of places that are crying foul at Western governments' decision to consider a developing country's anti-homosexuality laws before

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

December 2011 During the 16th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) held in Addis Ababa, messages of protest spread, claiming that the conference’s objective was to promote homosexuality & pressure the Eth govt to pass supportive legislation. globalvoices.org/2011/12/01/e...

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Key dates on the evolution of anti homosexuality advocacy and online violence against LGBTQIA+ communities in Ethiopia: 1/

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Mona Eltahawy @monaeltahawy.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Fuck this fucking fascist fuckery.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

A portrait of queer Ethiopian American friends who found this big friendship while in college.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

In the face of relentless disinformation and the shattering weight of systemic denial, queer Africans continue to create safe spaces for themselves. Every quiet search for connection and every hidden gathering is an act of defiance — a refusal to be erased.

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

"Now or never" - @thecontinent.org. Thread: While Europe was getting scolded at its own Munich Security Conference, African leaders were in Ethiopia for the annual African Union summit. As @simonallison.bsky.social explained, it was a critical summit, with Africa facing a new Trump led world order.

The African Union’s
moment of truth
At this weekend’s summit in Addis Ababa, our
presidents must decide: Does the continental body
serve them, or us?
NEWS ANALYSIS
Simon Allison
In March 1990, the Tanzanian
statesman Salim Ahmed Salim visited
Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli. At the
time, Salim was just six months into his
long tenure as secretary-general of the
Organisation of African Unity. According
to Salim’s notes, the Libyan dictator made
him wait before eventually granting him
an audience in the ruins of a former
presidential compound that had been
bombed by US warplanes several years
earlier. Gaddafi had turned the compound
into a museum.
On two chairs set up outside a tent,
the pair discussed the major issues of
the day – civil war in Ethiopia; clashes

Cover of this weekend's edition of The Continent's digi newspaper...

Skyrise buildings in Addis Ababa, including the HQ building of the African Union is seen...as well as a busy road with vehicles driving by a billboard that reads "now or never for the African Union."

It is next to a drawing of the Lion of Judah, a symbol seen in many places across the Ethiopian capital.

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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Publishing this during black history month is DIABOLICAL. LMAOOOOOOOOO!!!! The NYT is so wild.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

🤩 Ethiopian and Eritrean queer stories to the streets. To be seen. To be heard. A song of resistance ✨ Billboard from Exposure Photography Festival. (📸 Mitra Samavaki) Calgary, Alberta

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

My photography project Wonderfully Made, which highlights the Ethiopian and Eritrean queer community in the US, is featured in this year’s Exposure Photography Festival and opened last night ✨ If you are in Calgary don’t miss it - at Contemporary Calgary.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Today, I have a home where anyone who has been mistreated because of their sexuality, or who can’t be queer, Habesha, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Oromo—whatever their identity—in their own home, can come and be themselves.” 3/end From a conversation with an Ethiopian American queer woman.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

…When I turned 18, a family member outed me by sharing personal social media posts of me and the girl I was dating. My parents threatened me and even threatened to out her to her family, even though she wasn’t out—and as far as I know, she still isn’t. That’s when they essentially disowned me… 2/

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

“I grew up in a very religious household where my parents often expressed that they didn’t believe the LGBTQ+ community deserved equal rights. Yet one of God’s commandments is “love your neighbor as yourself.” Why would you deny your neighbor the same rights you have? 1/

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

“I can still see you if I close my eyes and focus, but that’s the only place you exist now. You’re a dream I had to let go of, even though I didn’t want to. Because more than anything, I wanted you to be safe and happy—and I can’t promise you that.” open.substack.com/pub/soniawit...

open.substack.com

A letter to the daughter I’ll never have

My love,

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Even decolonization would need to borrow decolonization just to decolonize academic spaces smh

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

After reviewing the form, I believe that artists are not always affiliated with an institution, and it should not be a requirement for them to be. The same applies to independent researchers and activists. Something to think about 🙏🏾

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Okay I really like The Later Daters.

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 25/12/2024

"I wish the war would end and we could return to our homes in peace." A Christian Palestinian girl in Gaza wishes for peace on Christmas Day amid Israel's war, at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

“It should drive us all beyond rage that revolutionary imaginations almost always stop outside the home. … unless we topple that tyrant in our minds, our bedrooms, and on our street corners – our revolution has not even begun.” ✨ @monaeltahawy.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

What comes next for Syria’s women? A revolution that doesn’t free them is no revolution at all | Mona Eltahawy

The women celebrating the destruction of jails and dungeons will now be wondering why their own oppression cannot also be dismantled, says author Mona Eltahawy

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Kemigisa @kemigisa.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

😂😂😂😂 they are only homophobic if you are poor 😂😂😂

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

African parents will find fault with almost anything if you’re broke. But if you’re financially independent, they’ll even defend you. “Leave my child alone” 😂

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

One of my participants became homeless after coming out to her family. Eventually, she managed to relocate to another state. Later, her family reached out, asking if they could stay with her while visiting her city. She told them ‘My house is gay.’ Audacity

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Qusay Noor @qusaynoor.net · 08/12/2024

People in #Syria are still opening prisons

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Yup! I have over 100 TikTok videos from the hate campaign backed up. They are still available online.

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 08/12/2024

"About 1.4 million people have left online dating in the past year as experts say users see it as a chore rather than social activity" "a contributing factor in the decline of online dating could be a sense of detachment from reality and fatigue at the process." www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

theguardian.com

‘It feels like admin’: why are people falling out of love with dating apps?

About 1.4 million people have left online dating in the past year as experts say users see it as a chore rather than social activity

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Yes, Takele said, [Anything outside of good, Specially something that conflicts with God will not come to our country. You know what I am talking about.] at an even with Ethiopian Orthodox Church leaders and Sunday school students. www.facebook.com/share/v/1Aox...

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Dan Ware, the founder of Toto Tours, issued a press release, and I often think about the message he received from a gay Ethiopian man v v v Since then, digital violence has worsened, leading to unsafe streets, and countless individuals fleeing the country.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

In 2019, an LGBTQ+ tour operator (Toto Tours) based in the U.S. announced a 16-day tour to Ethiopia, which included a visit to the Lalibela Church. The tour was eventually canceled due to threats and a widespread hate campaign on Facebook.

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Martha Tadesse @marthinolly.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

The disinformation targeting LGBTQ+ Ethiopians on YouTube is relentless. From religious leaders to random YouTubers, government officials, anti-LGBTQ+ group founders, health professionals, and celebrities. No accountability. No justice. Just endless digital violence.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 08/12/2024

Read about the incredible work of @nighatdad.bsky.social "In 2012, Dad established the Digital Rights Foundation, an NGO that aims to address the digital divide and fight online abuse of women and other gender minorities in Pakistan." www.wired.com/story/nighat...

wired.com

She Escaped an Abusive Marriage—Now She Helps Women Battle Cyber Harassment

Inspired by her own experience of abuse, Nighat Dad fights for women’s social and digital rights in Pakistan and beyond.

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