There have been several studies concerning women in Ethiopia. Historically, elite and powerful women in Ethiopia have been visible as administrators and warriors. This never translated into any benefit to improve the rights of women, but it had meant that women could inherit and own property and act as advisors on important communal and tribal matters. As late as the first part of the 20th century, Queen Menen, consort of Emperor Haile Selassie I, had a decisive role in running the Ethiopian Empire. Workit and Mestayit regents to their minor sons have been held responsible for their provinces. They owed their rights to landed property because of a special type of land tenure that expected tenants to serve as militia to overlords, irrespective of gender. In 1896, Empress Tayetu Betul, wife of Emperor Menelik II, actively advised the government and participated in defending the country from Italian invasion. Prominent and other landowning women fought against the second invasion in 1935–41. With the assistance of European advisors, women in the ensuing period were kept out of the army and politics, even as advisors. Instead, they were restricted to family and household work of raising children and cooking. With a steady increase in female representation in education, they have started to undertake nursing, teaching, and other similarly supportive roles. Over the 2018–2019 period, their gradual participation in state politics has been increasing at a steady pace.Tsehai Berhane-Selassie, Ethiopian Warriorhood: Land Defence and Society'James Currey, 2018; Abate, Yohannis. "The Role of Women". A Country Study: Ethiopia (Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry, editors). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (1991). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain..
Social role of women As in other traditional societies, in Ethiopia, a woman's worth is measured in terms of her role both as a mother and wife. Over 85 percent of Ethiopian women reside in rural areas, where households are engaged primarily in subsistence agriculture. In the countryside, women are integrated into the rural economy, which is often labor-intensive and exacts a heavy physical toll on all, including children. The Ethiopian Revolution had little impact on the lives of rural women. Land reform did not change their socioeconomic status, which was anchored in deep-rooted traditional values and beliefs. An improvement in economic conditions would improve the standard of living of women, but lasting change would also require a transformation in the attitudes of government officials and men regarding the roles of women.Abate, Yohannis. "The Role of Women". A Country Study: Ethiopia (Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry, editors). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (1991). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain..
In urban areas, women have greater access to education, health care and employment outside the home. In 1976, around 40 percent of employed women in urban areas worked in the service sector, mainly in hotels, restaurants, and bars. A few women with higher education also found professional employment. Employment in production and related areas (such as textiles and food processing) accounted for 25 percent of the female work force, followed by sales, which accounted for about 11 percent. The survey also found that women factory workers in Addis Ababa earned about a quarter of the wages men earned for the same type of work. These differences existed despite a 1975 proclamation stipulating equal pay for equal work for men and women.
Following the Ethiopian Revolution, women made some gains in economic and political areas. The Revolutionary Ethiopian Women's Association (REWA), which claimed a membership of over 5 million, took an active part in educating women. It encouraged the creation of women's organizations in factories, local associations, and in the civil service. Some women participated in local organizations and in peasant associations and kebeles. However, the role of women was limited at the national level. In 1984, for example, the government selected only one woman as a full member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Ethiopia. Of the 2,000 delegates who attended the party's inaugural congress in 1984, only 6 percent were women.
Under the Derg regime, the enrollment of girls in primary and secondary schools increased from about 32 percent in 1974/75 to 39 percent in 1985/86. The enrollment rate among girls in urban areas far exceeded that of girls in rural areas. The adult literacy rate also rose to 60 percent following a nationwide educational campaign. After the Derg's ouster, the adult literacy rate dropped to around 39 percent as of 2007; 28.9% for females and 49.1% for males. In response, the Ministry of Education launched a new educational campaign, which targets an eventual literacy rate of 95 percent and aims to educate 17 million adults.
As of 2008–2009, there was a steady increase in general enrollment and a decrease in gender disparity in access to education. The average annual growth rate of enrollment in all levels education was 27.2 percent for females and 33.7 percent for males, with an average annual growth rate of 29.7 percent for girls in Kindergarten, 13.4 percent for girls in primary school, 30.8 percent for girls in secondary school, 14.5 percent for women in TVET, and 21.4 percent for women in higher education.
After the formation of the Federal Republic in 1995, the Ministry of Women's Affairs was also established. As of October 2009, Muferiat Kamil serves as the Minister."House Approves Appointment Of Nine Ministers" (accessed 14 April 2009)
Social issues Women's health
The total fertility rate as of 2014 is 5.23 children born/woman. Although most women do not traditionally use contraception, there has been a marked increase in contraceptive use. Between 2000 and 2011, contraceptive prevalence increased from 8.2% to 28.6%. As of 2010, the maternal mortality is 350 deaths/100,000 live births.
The HIV/AIDS rate for both genders was estimated at 1.3% in 2012. More women are infected than men, and infections among women are partly due to their often lower socioeconomic status.http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/ethiopia/drive/WomenandGirlsandHIV-AIDSinEthiopia.pdf Since sex between spouses is traditionally regarded as an obligation, the UNFPA argues that married women are at a greater risk of contracting HIV as they have less control over the frequency and nature of such relations.
Violence against women
An UN analysis of several international studies suggests that domestic violence against women is most prevalent in Ethiopia. Sexual violence is also reportedly common. Article 620 of the 2004 Criminal Code of Ethiopia, defines rape differently as compelled "sexual intercourse outside wedlock". Article 53 of the 2000 Revised Family Code of Ethiopia also stipulates that "they [the wife and husband] shall have with one another the sexual relations normal in marriage unless these relations involve a risk of seriously prejudicing their health".
This is interpreted as rendering marital rape a legally impossible concept.Law of Family – Teaching Material. pp. 76 "The RFC also requires the spouses to have sexual relations normal in marriage unless these relations involve a risk of seriously prejudicing their health. As a result of this obligation, one cannot talk of marital rape under the Ethiopian law." In a 2005 WHO study, 59% of women reported lifetime sexual abuse by a partner, while one third of women reported that during the past 12 months they were physically forced to have sex against their will with their partner. This was the highest prevalence of all countries surveyed.WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women – Initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women's responses WHO
During the war women get raped more often, according to Anger Callamard, "It’s clear that rape and sexual violence have been used as a weapon of war to inflict lasting physical and psychological damage on women and girls in Tigray". From February to April 2021, medical facilities in Tigray recorded 1,288 instances of gender-based violence. 376 instances of rape were reported at Adigrat Hospital between the start of the conflict and June 9, 2021.The TPLF soldiers are the ones raping these innocent women and children. There have been many instances of gang rape where women are beaten and raped throughout several days. A 21-year-old Bademe resident named Blen said that on November 5, 2020, she was kidnapped by soldiers from Eritrea and Ethiopia and held captive for 40 days together with an estimated 30 other women. Blen said that " They raped us and starved us. They were too many who raped us in rounds. We were around 30 women they took… All of us were raped". One woman said that she had been gang-raped in front of her kids.
Female genital mutilation As of 2005, 74.3% of women aged 15 – 49 years had undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). The pre-marital custom is mainly endemic to Northeast Africa and parts of the Near East and has its ultimate origins in Ancient Egypt. Although legally proscribed under Articles 565 and 566 of the 2004 Penal Code, the procedure is still widely practiced, as it is deeply ingrained in the local culture. Encouraged and performed by women in the community, circumcision is primarily intended to deter promiscuity and to offer protection from assault.
According to Data from UNICEF, 25 million " In Ethiopia, 25 million girls and women have undergone FGM, the largest absolute number in Eastern and Southern Africa". Ethiopia has really high rate of female genital mutilation as it was a part of the culture for a long time. FGM risk varies according on a person's background traits. Greater danger applies to girls and women from rural regions and those with lower levels of education. In total, 65% of women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced FGM. 47% of teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have engaged in the activity. Ethiopia has made more headway toward eliminating FM than other high-prevalence nations in Eastern and Southern Africa. However, swifter action will be needed if FGM is to be eradicated by 2030. To achieve SDG objective 5.3, progress must be eight times quicker than that seen over the previous 15 years .
Bride kidnapping Bride kidnapping is practiced by certain communities in Ethiopia, mainly in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR). According to surveys conducted in 2003 by the National Committee on Traditional Practices in Ethiopia, the custom's prevalence rate in the SNNPR was estimated at 92 percent. The 2004 Criminal Code criminalizes this practice, as well as other forms of abuse of women, such as child marriage, trafficking and sexual harassment, at Chapter III – Crimes Committed against life, person and health through harmful traditional practices (Articles 561–570) and also by other provisions (Articles 587, 597, 625, 635, 637, 648). Wife-beating is also illegal: Article 564 – Violence Against a Marriage Partner or a Person Cohabiting in an Irregular Union.
The 2014 gang rape and death of Hanna Lalango, as well as several other contemporaneous high-profile sexual assaults, prompted outrage from women in Ethiopia and internationally. The Yellow Movement was founded as a response to encourage women to speak out against sexual violence.
Fighting for gender equality