Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald).
Ashenda in Raya: from festival of joy to cries of defiance against TPLF rule
By Horn of Africa correspondent
Raya, South Tigray – Ashenda, once a jubilant festival of song and sisterhood, has become a frontline of defiance in southern Tigray. In 2025, the women and girls of Raya transformed what is traditionally a celebration of womanhood into an unflinching indictment of the TPLF warlords they accuse of terrorising their communities.
Their chants, echoing through Mekoni and other towns in South Tigray, cut through the drums and dancing: “Do not kill us. Do not kidnap us. Do not terrorize us. Leave us alone.”
This year’s Ashenda marked a dramatic shift. Once a platform for joy and cultural expression, the festival has become a weapon of protest. For Raya’s women, who say they have endured killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence at the hands of the “Above the Core” TPLF network, Ashenda was no longer about festivity it was about survival and resistance.
From celebration to confrontation
Symbolism dominated the women’s defiance. Many held their arms crossed in the air, mimicking broken handcuffs. To them, the handcuff has become a searing metaphor: binding them to fear, imprisonment, and oppression under corrupt political warlords. But in its broken form, it is reclaimed as a sign of liberation.
“Ashenda is no longer just about songs and dresses. It is about our chains being broken,” one young woman in Mekoni told the Tigray Herald. “We are saying to the warlords: enough. You cannot silence us.”
TPLF’s legitimacy questioned
The transformation of Ashenda into open protest exposes the deep fracture between Tigray’s political elites and its population. Once seen as defenders of Tigray’s identity, the TPLF is now accused by its own people of perpetuating the same violence once inflicted upon them by outsiders.
“Genocide survivors in Tigray deserve healing and dignity not new layers of atrocities committed in the name of power,” said one Raya elder, condemning what he called “homegrown tyranny.”
For many observers, the Raya protests are more than a local confrontation. They represent a wider rejection of rule through violence and intimidation, shaking the political ground under the TPLF in its traditional stronghold.
Women as the nation’s defense
Ashenda 2025 has also become a rallying cry for women across Tigray. Women’s voices, once confined to festive songs, are now taking centre stage in political resistance. “When women stand, a nation cannot fall,” read one banner carried during the celebrations.
Analysts say this gendered defiance carries weight far beyond symbolism. “The spirit of Tigrayan women mothers, daughters, sisters has become the last line of defence against tyranny,” noted the Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review.
A festival redefined
For now, Ashenda in Raya stands as both celebration and confrontation. The songs of joy continue, but interwoven with cries for justice. The girls’ bright dresses shimmer under the August sun, but their raised voices demand liberation.
“Culture can be turned into protest. Tradition can be weaponized against oppression,” said a Raya community organiser. “Ashenda has been reborn as our battlefield for dignity.”
On this year’s Ashenda, the message could not be clearer: Raya’s women will not be silent victims. They are the torchbearers of resistance, and their defiance has redrawn the meaning of one of Tigray’s most sacred festivals.
Happy Ashenda Tigray 2025 songs of celebration, cries for justice.
