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Millennium Development Goal #3: Promote gender equality and empower women. Gender Equality in Ethiopia GVPT 354. Cecilia Gutner Samirawit Ayane Andrea Glauber Nadav Karasov Logan Connor. Introduction: Where We Are.
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Millennium Development Goal #3: Promote gender equality and empower women Gender Equality in EthiopiaGVPT 354 Cecilia Gutner Samirawit Ayane Andrea Glauber Nadav Karasov Logan Connor
Introduction: Where We Are • Ethiopia ranks 116th out of 135 countries on the 2011 Global Gender Index • Discriminatory social institutions and cultural norms
Where We Are Going • 2005: Creation of Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) • National Action Plan on Gender and Development (NAP) • PASDEP • Constitution grants women right to own land
How We Get There • Eliminating disparities in education • Changing attitudes and cultural values
Political and Community Representation Political Representation by Gender in Ethiopia • Women make up: • 21.3% of Parliament • 14.6% of ambassadors • 30% of formal employment sector
Maternal Care • Poor access and education • 6.7 million women who want access to family planning resources do not have it • 60% of mothers who did not attend health facilities while giving birth do not see the benefits of delivering at a medical center • The remaining 30% who abstain from going there cite culture and beliefs as their reasoning • Ethiopian Church • Silence on condoms • Opposed to family planning • U.S. Helms Amendment • U.S. funds cannot pay for safe abortions in cases of rape and incest or to save the life of the mother • 1/3 of pregnancy deaths are the result of unsafe abortions
Education • 1994: first comprehensive education policy • Challenges: Access, Equity, Relevance, Quality • Factors: 1) Translating policy into practice, 2) Gender factors in household decisions, and 3) Favoritism of boys • Primary level enrollment continues to increase while secondary and tertiary enrollment remain low • Regional and rural/urban disparity • Early marriage inhibits girls’ access to education: • 80% of married girls have received no education, and 81% cannot read • Only 3% of married girls ages 15-19 are in school, compared to 34% of unmarried girls
Child Brides • 49.1% of Ethiopian girls marry before age 18 • Most common age for girls to be married is 12 • Girls from poor households twice as likely to marry before age 18 • Girls younger than 15 are 5 times more likely to die from childbirth than women in their 20s or 30s • Higher risk of contracting deadly STDs such as HIV • Girls ages 15-19 are 2 to 6 times more likely to contract HIV than boys • Child brides show signs consistent with sexual and physical abuse—as well as PTSD—paired with feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and severe depression
Policy Recommendations • Representation: Implement community-based education programs to teach the importance of women in society • Support and scale-up community programs • Maternal Care and Child Brides: USAID should reinterpret the Helms Amendment to allow U.S. funds to pay for safe abortions in the cases of rape and incest, and to save the life of the mother • Education: Improve access and quality by enforcing compulsory enrollment in primary school and providing incentives for attendance at the secondary and tertiary level, such as scholarships. • Provide economic opportunities for young women, such as teacher training workshops or microfinance groups • Promote national policies that prohibit harmful traditional norms
References • Asfaw, Abraha. “Gender Inequalities in Tertiary Education in Ethiopia: Mediating the Transition to University through the Development of Adaptive Competencies.” Global Scholars Program Working Paper Series: Working Paper 5 (November 2012). Center for Universal Education, the Brookings Institution. Print. • World Economic Forum (WEF). “The Global Gender Gap Report 2011.” World Economic Forum. 2012. 16 Dec. 2012. Web. • Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA). “Ethiopia: Progress Made in the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.” Government of Ethiopia. Mar. 2004. 1 Dec. 2012. Web. • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “Ethiopia.” Social Institutions & Gender Index. Organisationfor Economic Co-operation and Development. 2012. 16 Dec. 2012. Web. • Inter-Parliamentary Union. “Women in National Parliaments.” Inter-Parliamentary Union. 31 Oct. 2012. 1 Dec. 2012. Web. • International Center for Research on Women. “Child Marriage Facts and Figures.” International Center for Research on Women. 2012. 6 Dec. 2012. Web. • PBS. “Child Marriage: What We Know.” PBS. 12 Oct. 2007. 6 Dec. 2012. Web. • Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED). “Ethiopia: 2010 MDGs Report: Trends and Prospects for Meeting MDGs by 2015.” United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Sep. 2010. 1 Dec. 2012. Web.