Ethiopian Women
Marriage by abduction is illegal, although it reportedly continued in some regions despite the government’s attempts to combat the practice. Abductions reportedly led to fighting among families, communities, and ethnic groups. In cases of abduction, the perpetrator did not face punishment if the survivor agreed to marry the perpetrator. The practice of forced marriage as a remedy for rape continued, although rape and forced marriage are illegal. These crimes were difficult to prosecute since they were usually settled outside courts of law. Some communities reportedly forced rapists to marry the survivor to protect her family’s reputation. Rapists who married survivors escaped punishment and might also benefit from a lowered bride price demanded by the survivor’s family.
According to 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) data, the country had an adolescent birth rate (per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19) of 79.5. The 2019 EMDHS shows on average, women ages 45-49 have given birth to 6.7 children. Despite nationwide access to contraception, negative cultural stigma around premarital sex reduced utilization of contraception. Transportation problems in remote areas of the country also reduced utilization of contraception. According to a small-scale DHS in 2019, the modern contraception prevalence rate was 41 percent, up from 35 percent in 2016. Prevalence and utilization of contraception varied widely among regions.
Lack of skilled health attendance during pregnancy correlated with the country’s high maternal mortality rate – 401 deaths per 100,000 live births according to 2017 WHO data. Major causes of maternal mortality included hemorrhage, obstructed labor/ruptured uterus, pregnancy-induced hypertension, sepsis, and unsafe abortion.
Social and cultural barriers limited women’s access to reproductive health services. According to the 2016 DHS, 85 percent of married or in-union women in the country made decisions on their health care; 94 percent had autonomy in deciding to use contraception; but only 53 percent could refuse to have sex with their partners. Overall, only 45 percent of married or in-union women ages 15 to 49 made their own decisions in all three key areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights: deciding on their own health care, deciding on the use of contraception, and saying no to sex. While 53 percent of married or in-union women reported being able to say no to sex, the law does not protect this right.
The law criminalizes rape and provides for a penalty of five to 20 years’ imprisonment if convicted, depending on the severity of the case. The law does not expressly address spousal rape. The government did not fully enforce the law. The law generally covers violence against a marriage partner or a person cohabiting in an irregular union without specifically mentioning spousal rape. Some judges interpreted this article to cover spousal rape cases, but others overlooked such cases.
On 06 October 2022, the United Nations Population Fund reported close to six million individuals needed services for gender-based violence, an increase from 3.5 million in 2021. The need was greatest in regions affected by conflict, drought, and floods. The report indicated women and girls accounted for most survivors seeking services, with gender-based violence against men and boys also recorded although highly underreported. According to the report, access to multisectoral services for women and girls remained low due to fear of stigma, access to services, and lower service availability.
The law criminalizes the practice of clitoridectomy and provides for three months’ imprisonment or a monetary fine if convicted. Conviction of infibulation of the genitals (the most extreme and dangerous form of FGM/C) is punishable by five to 10 years’ imprisonment. According to research by BioMed Central Public Health published in January 2021, the prevalence of FGM/C among girls from birth to age 14 was 18.6 percent, representing a decline compared with 24 percent reported in the Ethiopia DHS conducted in 2005.
Discrimination against women was widespread. It was most acute in rural areas, where an estimated 80 percent of the population lived. Traditional courts applied customary law in economic and social relationships. All federal and regional land laws empower women to access government land. Inheritance laws enable widows to inherit joint property acquired during marriage; however, enforcement of both legal provisions was uneven.
Women’s access to gainful employment, credit, and the opportunity to own or manage a business was limited by fewer educational opportunities and by legal restrictions on women’s employment. These restrictions include limitations on working in occupations deemed dangerous and in specific industries such as mining and agriculture. There were several initiatives aimed at increasing women’s access to these critical economic empowerment tools.
During election periods, women experienced more psychological abuse and violence than physical violence in comparison to men. Women were also more likely to experience sexual harassment within political party structures or when running for office. Although there were increases in women’s representation, women remained significantly underrepresented across both elected and appointed positions. In October 2021 the HOPR appointed only seven women ministers to the 22-member cabinet – a decrease from approximately 42 percent of the ministers previously to 30 percent.
Obviously, women are as capable of running for elected posts as men are. It can safely be concluded that women’s limited political participation is a result of the numerous challenges that women face. The challenges can be summarized as follows:
1. Traditions, cultures and societal attitudes that force women into roles that lead to their exclusion from participating in the political process.
2. Women’s largely unshared domestic responsibilities that leave them overworked, economically dependent and unlikely to compete in equality with men. 3. Illiteracy or low level of education of women that contributes significantly to their low political understanding, unfamiliarity with basic democratic concepts such as political rights as well as anti-discriminatory laws, and limited opportunities for employment.
4. Limited opportunities particularly for key employment positions make visibility in the community practically difficult to attain and increases their economic dependence on men. Limited employment opportunities or lower paying jobs for women are likely to make it difficult for them to finance their campaigns to political elections. Arguably married women are the most affected as, in addition to the challenges that affect other women, they may face the problem of not being able to manage their own income or use their income for election purposes. 5. Poverty leaves women with insufficient time to be interested in politics as they would be concerned with earning a daily living for their families than following any specific political agenda. Poverty often results in women’s financial dependence on men, which is a condition that forces many women to be submissive and easy to influence, where, as often is the case, husbands or other family members do not want them to be involved in politics.
6. The failure of political parties to view women as desirable candidates and thereby not easily accepting or promoting them.
7. Male dominance of political structures that leads not only to politics being considered not ‘women’s place’ but also to the dominance being perceived as natural. The situation is uninviting or even hostile to women. The lack or shortage of women political representatives that can serve as role models is another weak point that reinforces the stereotypes.
8. The lack of strong women’s organizations (in addition to EWLA) that realize the challenges that women face because of their gender and that can support women candidates to overcome these obstacles particularly in their campaigns.
9. The plurality of votes electoral system that is favorable to community leaders and other visible individuals, who are disproportionately male, to the exclusion of women, who are traditionally invisible
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