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 AFROL
Gender Profiles:
Ethiopia
Ethiopia remains one of Africa's most traditional societies, even when it
comes to legislation. Although the country has a great ethnic, religious and
cultural diversity, attitudes towards women's rights are relatively homogenous
in rural societies, where female genital mutilation is the norm. Incapable
Governments (until the overthrowing of Menghistu in 1991) spending most
resources on military campaigns, natural hazards and unwillingness to invest in
rural societies are the main causes of widespread extreme poverty, to which
women are the principal victims.
The 1960 Civil Code is based on a monarchical constitution that
treats women as if they were children or disabled.
Child prostitution is on the increase especially in major urban centers of the country.
Girls as young as age 11 are recruited to work in houses of prostitution where they are kept ignorant of the risks of HIV infection.
Culturally-based abuses including wife beating and marital rape are pervasive social problems. Societal abuse of young girls continues to be a problem.
72,7 percent of the female population undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The law does not specifically prohibit FGM.
Other harmful traditional practices surveyed by the NCTPE includes uvulectomy, milk-teeth extraction, early marriage, marriage by abduction, and food and work prohibitions.
The maternal mortality rate is extremely high due, in part, to food taboos for pregnant women, poverty, early marriage, and birth complications related to FGM, especially infibulation.
Every woman in Ethiopia on average gives birth to 7,07 children (2000 est.)
Social data
Life expectancy: Total population: 45,17 years
male: 44,41 years
female: 45,94 years (2000 est.)
Infant mortality: 101,29 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Alphabetization rate: Total population: 35,5%
male: 45,5%
female: 25,3% (1995 est.)
Medical services: 45 % of people have no access to medical services.
Sex ratio: at birth: 1,03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1,01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1,01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0,84 male(s)/female
total population: 1,01 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Religious data: Traditional African religions 4,20%,
Christians 50,80%, Muslim 45%.
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2000 est.)
Family and tradition
The 1960 Civil Code is based on a monarchical constitution that treated women as if they were children or disabled. Discriminatory regulations in the civil code include recognizing the husband as the legal head of the family and designating him as the sole guardian of children over 5 years old. Family Arbitration Councils, and not the courts, have the legal power to dissolve marriages. Domestic violence is not considered a serious justification under the law to obtain a divorce. There is only limited juridical recognition of common-law marriage. Irrespective of the number of years the marriage has existed, the number of children raised and the joint property, the woman is entitled to only 3 months' financial support should the relationship end. However, a husband has no obligation to provide financial assistance to his family and, as a result, women and children sometimes are abandoned when there is a problem in the marriage. All land belongs to the State; however, land reforms enacted in March 1997 stipulate that women may obtain government leases to land. Discrimination is most acute in rural areas, where 85 percent of the population lives.
Although illegal, the abduction of women and girls as a form of marriage still is widely practiced in Oromiya regions and the SNNPRS. Forced sexual relationships often accompany most marriages by abduction, and women often are abused physically during the abduction. Abductions have led to conflicts between families, communities, and ethnic groups.
The Ministry of Justice also completed a revision of the 1957 Penal Code and a national debate on the revisions began. Critical issues affecting women and children include the penalties for rape, domestic violence, and child molestation. However, regardless of changes to the Penal Code, tradition and culture often prevail over civil and criminal law, and in practice women do not enjoy equal status with men. For example, the harmful traditional practice of abduction as a form of marriage already is illegal under the penal code but still is widely practiced in many rural areas.
Societal abuse of young girls continues to be a problem.
72,7 percent of the female population undergo Female Genital Mutilation
(FGM). Clitoridectomies typically are performed 7 days after birth and consist of an excision of the labia. Infibulation, the most extreme and dangerous form of FGM, is performed at any time between the age of 8 and the onset of puberty. The law does not specifically prohibit
FGM.
Other harmful traditional practices surveyed by the NCTPE included uvulectomy, milk-teeth extraction, early marriage, marriage by abduction, and food and work prohibitions. The Constitution defines the age of consent as 15 for females and 18 for males. Nevertheless, early childhood marriage is common in rural areas, with girls as young as age 9 subjected to arranged marriages. In the Afar region of the east, young girls continue to be married to much older men, but this traditional practice is coming under greater scrutiny and criticism. The Tigray Women's Association also has had an impact in changing societal attitudes toward early marriage. Pregnancy at an early age often leads to obstetric fistulae resulting in lifelong misery due to total and permanent incontinence. Treatment is available at only one hospital in Addis Ababa that performs over
1.000 fistula operations a year. It estimates that for every successful operation performed, 10 other young women need the treatment. The maternal mortality rate is extremely high due, in part, to food taboos for pregnant women, poverty, early marriage, and birth complications related to FGM, especially infibulation.
Gender sensitivity in society
The Constitution states that all persons are equal before the law. The law provides that all persons should have equal and effective protection without discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, wealth, birth, or other status. However, the Government has not yet fully put into place mechanisms for the effective enforcement of these protections.
The Constitution provides for the equality of women; however, these provisions often are not applied in practice. Furthermore, these provisions often are in conflict with the 1960 Civil Code and the 1957 Penal Code, both of which still are in force. The 1960 Civil Code is based on a monarchical constitution that treated women as if they were children or disabled.
In urban areas, women have fewer employment opportunities than men do, and the jobs available do not provide equal pay for equal work. As a result of changes in the Labor Law in 1998, thousands of women traveled to the Middle East as industrial and domestic workers. There were credible reports that female workers were abused, and even killed, in these
positions.
To enhance the status of women, the Government formally adopted a National Program of Action in 1997. The program seeks to expand educational and work opportunities for women, improve women's access to health care, and educate women about certain unhealthy traditional practices such as early marriage. There have been few improvements in the status of women since the inception of this program; however, girls reportedly attended school in greater numbers in some regions, and according to a study done by the National Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices (NCTPE), certain harmful traditional practices such as early marriage and marriage by abduction appeared to be on the decline.
In December 1998, the Ministry of Justice completed a draft Family Law with the purpose of bringing discriminatory elements of the 1960 Civil Code into accord with the Constitution. The draft was sent to the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives organized six forums during the year with participants from all sectors and regions of the country to discuss the law and the various issues still in need of reform. The draft bill still was under discussion at year's end.
The Criminal Code, which applies to persons over the age of 15 specifically prohibits forced labor; however, forced labor can be used by court order as a punitive measure. Forced or compulsory labor by children is illegal; while there were reports in past years that young girls reportedly were sold or forced into prostitution, there were no such reports during the year
Health data
Access to potable water: 25%
Medical services: 45 % of people have no access to medical services.
Maternal mortality rate: 1.400/100.000.
Infant mortality: 101,29 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Between 70 and 90% of females undergo this
practice.
The majority of girls undergo some form of female genital mutilation (FGM), which is widely condemned by international health experts as damaging to both physical and psychological health. The NCTPE conducted a survey that was published in 1998, which indicated that
72,7 percent of the female population had undergone FGM, down from an estimated 90 percent of the female population in 1990. Clitoridectomies typically are performed 7 days after birth and consist of an excision of the labia. Infibulation, the most extreme and dangerous form of FGM, is performed at any time between the age of 8 and the onset of puberty. The law does not specifically prohibit FGM, although it is discouraged officially, and the Government has been very supportive of the NCTPE. The Government also is working to discourage the practice of FGM through education in public schools.
Pregnancy at an early age often leads to obstetric fistulae resulting in lifelong misery due to total and permanent incontinence. Treatment is available at only one hospital in Addis Ababa that performs over
1.000 fistula operations a year. It estimates that for every successful operation performed, 10 other young women need the treatment. The maternal mortality rate is extremely high due, in part, to food taboos for pregnant women, poverty, early marriage, and birth complications related to FGM, especially infibulation.
Violence against women
Culturally-based abuses including wife beating and marital rape are pervasive social problems. While women have recourse to the police and the courts, societal norms and limited infrastructure inhibit many women from seeking legal redress, especially in remote areas. Social practices obstruct investigations into rape and the prosecution of the rapist, and many women are not aware of their rights under the law. There are only an estimated 20 rape convictions a year and rape sentences typically are much lighter than the 10 to 15 years prescribed by law.
Child prostitution continues to be a problem. In 1996, a National Steering Committee Against Sexual Exploitation of Children was formed and is chaired by the Children, Youth, and Family Affairs Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. In October the committee reported that child prostitution is on the increase especially in major urban centers of the country. NGO's report that girls as young as age 11 are recruited to work in houses of prostitution where they are kept ignorant of the risks of HIV infection. There have been many press reports of the large-scale employment of children, especially underage girls, as hotel workers, barmaids, and prostitutes in resort towns and truckstops south of Addis Ababa. In past years, there were reports that poor rural families sold their young teenage daughters to hotel and bar owners on the main truck routes; however, there were no reports of such activity during the year. Social workers note that young girls are prized because their clients believe that they are free of sexually transmitted diseases. The unwanted babies of these young girls usually are abandoned at hospitals, police stations, welfare clinics, and adoption agencies. There were numerous anecdotal accounts of young girls going to the Middle East to work as house servants and nannies, some of whom were abused, including
sexually. There reportedly is a network of persons based in the tourism and import-export sectors who are involved heavily in soliciting potential clients, recruiting young girls, arranging travel, and fabricating counterfeit work permits, travel documents, and birth certificates.
Factors aggravating the problem of child prostitution are pervasive poverty, migration to urban centers, and limited educational and job opportunities.
Child labor is pervasive, and child laborers sometimes are subjected to abuse, including neglect, and among children working as domestic servants, sexual abuse and rape.
As a result of a change in the Labor Law the Government no longer acts as an employment agency for workers going abroad. Private entities now arrange for overseas work and as a result, the number of women being sent to Middle Eastern countries as domestic or industrial workers increased significantly. Lebanon is the most popular destination. There were credible reports that hundreds of the approximately
15.000 Ethiopian domestic workers in Lebanon were subjected to abusive conditions, including sexual exploitation. In September and October, pictures appeared in the local press of workers returning bruised and beaten. There were also reports that Ethiopian domestic workers were abused in other Middle Eastern countries.
The Government began revising the Federal Civil and Penal Codes to increase the penalties for traffickers. Training programs were implemented for police officers on the criminal aspects of trafficking.
Main sources: U.S. Department of State, CIA,
Mundo negro
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