Atsedeweine Tekle Riggio (Amharic: አፀደወይን ተክለ ሪጎ) is an Ethiopian lawyer and jurist who was the country's first female judge, serving on both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
[1] Due to their father's encouragement, all six girls completed university, which was highly unusual at the time.
[1] She graduated with an LLB from Addis Ababa University in 1978, one of the first female law graduates in Ethiopia, despite taking two years from her studies to fulfil the Derg government's national service requirement, "Zemecha".
[1] From 1992 to 1994, Tekle was one of three women members of the 1992-1994 Constitutional drafting commission for the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, and was responsible for the inclusion of strong language supporting the rights of women and overturning gender discrimination.
[1] In 1995, she co-founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association with Meaza Ashenafi and Maria Yusuf.