UNIT FOUR

APPROACHES AND STRATEGIES IN GENDER AND

DEVELOPMENT

Gender Needs
Different gender roles generate gender needs. These needs are conceived as practical needs and
strategic interests. They are reinforcing strategies to integrate the concerns of women into
development programs and projects.

1.1 Practical Gender Needs (PGN)

Practical gender needs are the needs women identify in their socially accepted roles in
society. PGNs are a response to immediate perceived necessity, identified within a specific
context. They are practical in nature and often concern inadequacies in living conditions such as
water provision, health care and employment. Hence, Practical needs are immediate and
material and arise from current conditions.
Women’s practical needs tend to focus on the domestic arena, income-earning activities, and
housing and basic services, all identified as women’s responsibilities. Child care services,
maternal and child health care, subsistence crops marketing, and traditional employment
opportunities are means to address these needs.
While practical interventions can increase women’s participation in the development process, they
are unlikely to change gender relations and, in fact, may preserve and reinforce inequitable divisions
of labor. PGNs do not challenge, although they arise out of gender divisions of labor, women's
subordinate position in society.

Fedhiin saalaa qabatamaan fedhii dubartoonni gahee hawaasummaan fudhatama qabu hawaasa
keessatti qaban keessatti adda baasanidha. PGNn barbaachisummaa battalumatti fudhatamuuf
deebii kan kennu yoo ta’u, haala murtaa’e keessatti adda baafameera. Uumamaan qabatamaa
kan ta’an yoo ta’u, yeroo baay’ee haala jireenyaa kanneen akka dhiyeessii bishaanii, eegumsa
fayyaa fi hojii irratti hanqina kan ilaallatudha. Kanarraa ka’uun Fedhiin Qabatamaa battalaa fi
kan qabatamaa ta’ee fi haala amma jiru irraa kan ka’u dha.
Fedhiin qabatamaan dubartootaa dirree mana keessaa, hojiiwwan galii argamsiisan, fi mana
jireenyaa fi tajaajila bu’uuraa irratti kan xiyyeeffatu yoo ta’u, hundi isaanii itti gaafatamummaa
dubartootaa ta’uun adda baafamaniiru. Tajaajilli kunuunsa daa’immanii, kunuunsa fayyaa

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haadholii fi daa’immanii, gabaa midhaan jireenyaaf oolu, fi carraan hojii aadaa fedhiiwwan kana
furuuf mala.
Giddu-galli qabatamaan adeemsa misoomaa keessatti hirmaannaa dubartootaa guddisuu kan
danda’u ta’us, hariiroo saalaa jijjiiruun kan hin oolle yoo ta’u, dhugaa dubbachuuf qoqqoodinsa
hojii walqixxummaa hin qabne kunuunsuu fi cimsuu danda’a. PGNn qoqqoodinsa hojii saalaa,
hawaasa keessatti ejjennoo gadi aanaa dubartootaa irraa kan ka’e ta’us, hin mormu.

1.2 Strategic Gender Needs (SGN)

Strategic Gender Needs (SGN) is also termed as strategic interests of women.
Strategic interests are the needs women identify because of their subordinate position in
society. They vary according to particular contexts, related to gender divisions of labor, power and
control, and may include such issues as legal rights, domestic violence, equal wages, and women's
control over their bodies. Meeting SGNs assists women to achieve greater equality and change
existing roles, thereby challenging women's subordinate position.
Fedhiin Koorniyaa Tarsiimoo (SGN) fedhii tarsiimoo dubartootaa jedhamees ni waama. Fedhiin
tarsiimoo fedhii dubartoonni sababa ejjennoo gadi aanaa hawaasa keessatti qabaniin adda
baasanidha. Isaanis akkaataa haala addaatiin garaagarummaa kan qaban yoo ta’u, qoodinsa
hojii saalaa, aangoo fi to’annoo wajjin kan walqabatan yoo ta’u, dhimmoota akka mirga seeraa,
jeequmsa maatii, mindaa walqixaa, fi to’annoo dubartoonni qaama isaanii irratti qaban of
keessatti qabachuu danda’u. SGNs wal arguun dubartoonni walqixxummaa guddaa akka argatan
fi gahee hojii jiru akka jijjiiran gargaara, kanaanis ejjennoo dubartootaa jala jiran qormaata.
Strategic interests are long-term, related to equalizing gender-based disparities in wages,
education, employment, and participation in decision-making bodies. Addressing strategic
interests may challenge the prevailing balance of power between men and women.

Actions to address women’s strategic interests might include

 abolition of the gender division of labor,
 shared domestic labor and child care,
 elimination of institutionalized forms of discrimination,
 promotion of political equality,
 freedom of choice over childbearing, and
 adequate measures against male violence.

Practical needs and strategic interests are linked . Responding to practical needs identified
by women at the community level can provide an entry point to identifying and addressing their
long-term strategic interests. Starting a women’s group to meet a practical need for child care or
income-generation may improve women’s economic position and political participation. A

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community-based reproductive health project, introduced to meet the practical need for family
planning, may enable women to have greater control over their reproductive lives and have a larger
role in decision-making in the family.
Fedhiin qabatamaa fi fedhiin tarsiimoo walitti hidhame. Fedhii qabatamaa dubartoonni sadarkaa
hawaasaatti adda baafamaniif deebii kennuunis fedhii tarsiimoo yeroo dheeraa isaanii adda
baasuu fi furuuf bakka seensaa ta’uu danda’a. Fedhii qabatamaa kunuunsa daa’immanii ykn galii
maddisiisuu guutuuf garee dubartootaa jalqabuun ejjennoo dinagdee fi hirmaannaa siyaasaa
dubartootaa fooyyessuu danda’a. Pirojektiin fayyaa walhormaataa hawaasa irratti hundaa’e,
fedhii qabatamaa karoora maatii guutuuf kan jalqabame, dubartoonni jireenya walhormaataa
isaanii irratti to’annoo guddaa akka qabaataniifi maatii keessatti murtee kennuu keessatti gahee
guddaa akka qabaatan dandeessisuu danda’a.

WID and GAD Approaches in Development

2.1 Women in Development (WID) and Women and Development (WAD)

Women in Development (WID) and Gender and Development (GAD) are the major
schools of thought in women’s development. They are approaches that represent a growing
awareness that sustainable development must include the full and equal participation of
women and men. The WID approach promotes women’s integration in development efforts.
The focus is mainly on women whereas the GAD approach concentrates on both men’s and
women’s roles and responsibilities. GAD specifically aims to fulfill the strategic interests of women.
In reality, both WID and GAD can contribute to women’s advancement and increase gender equity.
WID projects enable women to address their practical needs and gain experience for projects in
which they are mainstreamed. GAD enables women to address strategic interests, and women and
men to work together toward mutual goals and greater equality. As such, both deserve consideration
by development planners.

Ester Boserup, argued in the book, Women’s Role in Economic Development (1970) that women’s
contributions were being ignored and development suffered as a result. The goal was more efficient,
effective development through the integration of women into existing development processes. The
strategies that were developed included adding women’s projects or project components, increasing
women’s income and productivity, and improving women’s ability to look after the household.

The main limitation of WID approach did not address the root causes of discrimination that
prevented women’s full participation in their societies. In the late 1970s, the WAD perspective was
developed in reaction to omissions in WID.

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WAD proponents argued that women were already integrated into development processes but on
unequal terms. They pointed out that development projects increase the demands on women without
increasing access to resources or decision-making power and, in effect, work against women’s
interests. WAD argued that class structures were more oppressive than gender and that poor,
marginalized women have more in common with men of their class than with women of another
class. The emergence of GAD in the 1980s marked a revolution in thinking about equitable,
sustainable development.

2.2 Gender and Development (GAD)

The rationale for conducting women’s development programs began to shift from increased
efficiency in meeting development goals to greater equity and empowerment for women. The new
focus on gender was developed by women who argued that the WID approach saw the problems of
women merely from the perceived sexual divisions—their biological differences with men—rather
than in terms of gender—the social roles and relationships of men and women and the forces that
both perpetuate and change these relations. They pointed out that women have been systematically
subordinated and assigned secondary or inferior roles to men and their needs have been considered
in isolation from the larger context.
GAD reflects the recognition that women are an integral part of every development strategy.
GAD includes three main concepts:
 Both men and women create and maintain society and shape the division of labor.
However, they benefit and suffer unequally. Therefore, greater focus must be placed on
women because they have been more disadvantaged.
 Women and men are socialized differently and often function in different spheres of the
community, although there is interdependence. As a result, they have different
priorities and perspectives.
 Development affects men and women differently, and women and men will have a
different impact on projects. Both must be involved in identifying problems and
solutions if the interests of the community as a whole are to be furthered.
The GAD approach to development is aimed at ensuring an equal distribution of opportunities,
resources, and benefits to different population groups served by a particular intervention.

Below is a summary of the WID and GAD approaches to development.

Women in Development Gender and Development

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The Approach  An approach which seeks to integrate women into the An approach which seeks to empower women and
development process
transform unequal relations between women and men

The Focus  Women  Relations between men and women

The Problem  The exclusion of women from the development process  Unequal relations of power (rich and poor/women and men)

that prevent equitable development and women’s full participation

The Goal  More efficient, effective Development  Equitable, sustainable development

 Women and men sharing decision-making and power

The Strategies  Women’s projects  Identify and address short-term needs determined by women

 Women’s components and men to improve their condition

 Integrated projects  At the same time, address women’s and men’s longer term interests

 Increase women’s productivity and income

 Increase women’s ability to manage their households

Source: Two Halves Make a Whole: Balancing Gender Relations in Development

UNIT FIVE
GENDER ISSUES IN ETHIOPIA

1.1 Gender issues in Ethiopia and legal measures adopted

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The issue of gender inequality can be considered as a universal feature of developing countries.
Unlike women in developed countries who are, in relative terms, economically empowered and
have a powerful voice that demands an audience and positive action, women in developing
countries are generally silent and their voice has been stifled by economic and cultural factors.

Economic and cultural factors, coupled with institutional factors dictate the gender-based
division of labor, rights, responsibilities, opportunities, and access to and control over
resources. Education, literacy, access to media, employment, decision making, among other
things, are some of the areas of gender disparity. These all problems of gender inequalities are
very much prevalent in and relevant to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is a patriarchal society that keeps women in a subordinate position and remains one
of Africa’s most traditions bound societies. (Haregewoin and Emebet, 2003). There is a belief
that women are docile, submissive, patient, and tolerant of monotonous work and violence, for
which culture is used as a justification (Hirut, 2004).

The socialization process, which determines gender roles, is partly responsible for the subjugation of
women in the country. Ethiopian society is socialized in such a way that girls are held inferior to
boys. In the process of upbringing, boys are expected to learn and become self-reliant, major
bread winners, and responsible in different activities, while girls are brought up to conform, be
obedient and dependent, and specialize in indoor activities like cooking, washing clothes, fetching
water, caring for children, etc. (Haregewoin and Emebet, 2003; Hirut, 2004).

The differences in the ways in which individuals are treated through the socialization process,
mainly due to their sex status, leads to the development of real psychological and personality
differences between males and females (Almaz, 1991).

1.2 Critical areas of gender issues in Ethiopia

A) Poverty and gender

Although women's contribution to their households, food production and national economies is
immense, it has not been translated into better access to resources or decision-making powers. As a
result, women remained to be the poorest of the poor constituting 70% of the global poor. Women
in Ethiopia face similar constraints. Due to the different roles and responsibilities men and women
have in the society, the causes and experiences of poverty also differ by gender. Rights such as,

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access to land, credit and other productive resources are difficult for women to attain. Women make
up half of the population and the majority of the poor and illiterate in the country. Though
women play a vital role in production activities, in addition to shouldering reproductive
responsibility, they are denied recognition and access to resources. Cultural attitudes and harmful
traditional practices are major factors which relegate women to a subordinate position.

Like other least developing countries (LDCs), Ethiopia in 2002 also started the preparation of the
final draft of poverty reduction strategy paper immediately after the approval of the interim poverty
reduction strategy document entitled "sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program
(SDPRP) provides a sound basis to continue the implementation of the sustainable development and
poverty reduction program activities in the country. Given poverty reduction will continue to be the
core of the agenda of the country's development, the strategy is built on four pillars (building
blocks). These are Agriculture Development led Industrialization (ADLI), Justice System and
Civil Service Reform, Decentralization and Empowerment, and Capacity building in public
and private sectors.

Taking the significance of addressing the gender dimension of poverty into consideration, a lot of
advocacy and lobbying work has been done by the government and Non Government Organization
(NGOs) and other actors to incorporate gender issues in both the interim and final poverty reduction
programs. Efforts have also been done by the Women's Affairs Office of the

B) Violence against women

Violence against women is a general problem in Ethiopia, where culturally based abuses,
including wife beating and marital rape, are pervasive social problems. A July 2005 World
Bank study concluded that 88 percent of rural women and 69 percent of urban women believed their
husbands had the right to beat them. While women had recourse via the police and courts, societal
norms and limited infrastructure prevented many women from seeking legal redress, particularly in
rural areas. The government prosecutes offenders only on a limited scale. The population sex ratio in
Ethiopia has been stable (around 99%) for the past 50 years, and the occurrence of missing women is
not widespread in the country.

Violence against women such as rape, domestic violence, abduction for marriage, sexual
harassment, female genital mutilation, early marriage are widely speared in the country and
are being widely recognized, as a violation of women's right apart from the physical and
psychological consequence it has on the life of a woman. Women in Ethiopia as anywhere else
are also victims of various violence and harmful traditional practices simply because of their
gender. Patriarchal domination, cultural and traditional practices, economic deprivation
etc are among the reasons for violence against women in Ethiopia.

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The practices of female genital mutilation (FGM) and early/and forced marriage, impinge on
the rights and health of women. Traditional discriminatory practices such as FGM and widow
inheritance (including all her property) continue to persist. In Ethiopia, 80% of women (and in some
parts of the country up to 100%) are mutilated, as a means of women’s loyalty to culture and faith
(Haregewoin and Emebet, 2003). It is also estimated that, in each of the 28 Woredas in Addis
Ababa, three women are raped each day making it a total of 30,660 rape cases every year
(Haregewoin and Emebet, 2003). Data compiled by the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association
from woreda police stations in Addis Ababa showed a 39% and 54% increment of abduction and
assault and bodily injury to women and young girls between 1999 and 2001 (Federal Civil Service
Commission, 2005). The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS is also posing a serious threat to the
development of the country.

Cognizant to this fact, a lot of awareness has been undertaken by various stakeholders including the
WAO/PMO, Sectoral women's affairs machineries, and civil society organizations. FGM is
forbidden according to national law, and is presumed to be declining. The new penal code
criminalizes FGM by imprisonment of no less than three months, or a fine. Likewise, infibulations is
punishable by imprisonment of five to ten years. However, no criminal prosecutions have ever been
sought regarding FGM. Various strategies, including IEC materials, training's/workshops, media
campaign (both print and air), panel discussions, legal aid for women etc were used in this regard.
Taking the multi-dimensional consequences of violence against women into consideration, the
government of Ethiopia has taken measure in creating conducive environment for the revisions of
legal reforms that are discriminatory to women. Accordingly, the family law has been revised in a gender
sensitive manner and the penal code is at stake.

C) Women’s economic participation

The backbone of the economy in Ethiopia is agriculture, which accounts for 54% of the gross
domestic product (GDP) and 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment.

Rural women in Ethiopia engage as equally as their male counterparts in agricultural

activities, in addition to carrying the heavy burden of household duties.

Women’s access to land is not only smaller, but they are also disadvantaged in terms of using
their land. This is because their land is often in a worse condition than those used by male-headed
households. This is due to the fact that women do not have the necessary resources to cultivate the
land, which in a lot of cases forces them to rent out their land to others.

Women also lack agricultural labor; this is another reason why they are forced to rent out the
land. This is not necessarily because they are incapable of working on their plot, but because the
culturally accepted gender divisions of labor prohibit women from such activity. For example, in the

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grain producing areas of the country social norms prohibit women from farming land (Yigeremew,
2001).

D) Gender and Education

Studies have shown that women are seriously disadvantaged regarding educational attainment.
Women’s education was found to be significantly far behind from that of men. For school age
population the participation or enrolment rates in schools has shown a remarkable increase for both
boys and girls in recent years. However, the gender gap remained to be there. Dropping out after
enrolling for few years is the main obstacle to girls’ educational attainment. As education of
girls and women is rightly considered to be the key for improving women’s status at all levels,
it is indeed necessary to explore further what specific factors work against girls’ education in
the society. Factors affecting educational attainment of girls include early marriage, living in rural
areas and poverty (being in households grouped in lower and poorest wealth quintile groups), etc.

Most cultures strongly urge girls to get married early and take the responsibility of serving
their husbands. The cultural pressure in favor of early marriage is so strong that families who
do not get their daughters married at an acceptably young age will be scorned and ridiculed;
the girls may also not get husbands if they pass that age. To respect this tradition, parents
continue defying the Constitution that set minimum age of marriage.

Other reasons given for early marriage and dropping out from school were fear of sexual
violence, such as rape and abduction, that befall young girls before marriage and fear of
promiscuity and unwanted pregnancy before marriage on the girls’ side.
In some rural area, Parents do not believe that girls’ education is useful and girls are employable.
Once married, women will have no time and permission to go to school. In most societies girls’ main
role is believed to be learning household activities, cooking, cleaning, rearing children and taking
care of the family as a whole, rather than going to school. It is believed that educating girls is not
that useful as they are going to get married and assume their role soon anyway. These reasons are
shared by almost all rural communities of the country to different degrees while some are indicated
even in urban settings.

Some region-specific, (in Somali, for example), reasons indicated that girls are not allowed in many
cases to attend classes with boys in the same classroom. In addition, the pastoralist lifestyle, which
involves relocating temporary residence and family maintenance, burdens women and girls and leads
to the disruption of girls’ education (Somali and Afar).

Low educational level is one of the causes and consequences of females’ low socio-economic status.

One of the strategic objectives and actions in the Beijing Declaration and the Platform of action is
education and training of women. The strategic objective clearly states that education is a human

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right and an essential tool for achieving the goals of equality, development and peace. Following the
declaration, Ethiopia has been trying to close the gender gap in education through formulation of
policies, strategies and action oriented measures. The new education and training policy declared in
1994, has addressed the importance of girls education and among others it clearly stated that the
government will give financial support to raise the participation of women in education. It further
stated that, special attention would be given to the participation, recruitment, training and assignment
of female teachers.

E) Women’s work status

Women are underrepresented in the formal sector of employment. The survey conducted by the
Central Statistical Authority (CSA, 2004) showed that women account for less than half (43%) of the
total employees in the country. Considering the percentage of female employees from the total
number of employees by employment type, the highest was in domestic activities (78%) and
followed by unpaid activities (59.3%). In other types of formal employment (e.g. government,
NGOs, private organizations), the percentage of female workers is less than 35. On the other hand,
the survey showed overrepresentation of female workers in the informal sector. About 58% of
working women work in the informal sector whereas the percentage of working men in the informal
sector was 37.7 % (ibid).

The breakdown of the federal government employees by occupational groups also indicated gender
disparity. From federal government employees found in the clerical and fiscal type of jobs 71.3 %
were female, while the percentage of females was slightly more than half (51%) in custodial and
manual type of jobs. Women make up 25% and 18% of the administrative and professional and
scientific job categories, respectively, indicating that upper and middle level positions are
overwhelmingly dominated by men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005). This concentration
of women in the informal sector and low level positions has implication on their earnings. In this
regard, the survey showed four out of ten women civil servants earn Birr 300 a month compared to
two out of ten for men (Federal Civil Service Commission, 2005).

F) Women and Media

Ethiopian women’s access to mass media is one of the lowest. In their DHS comparative report,
Mukuria et al. (2005) show that, among 25 Sub-Saharan African countries, Ethiopia was the last
with respect to percentage of women who have access to newspaper. In the same report it was
indicated that in 2000, among women aged 15-49 in Ethiopia, only 1.7% read newspaper at least
once a week, compared with 15% in Uganda, 36% in Gabon and 37% in Namibia. Regarding

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women’s access to television, among the 25 countries, Ethiopia was the second from the last with
only 4.4% of women aged 15-49 watching television at least once a week, surpassing only Malawi
(3.8%). Women’s access to radio was relatively better than access to newspaper and television, with
11% of the women listening to radio at least once a week. It is, however, the lowest compared to
other sub- Saharan African countries; 72% for Gabon, 53% for Uganda, 52% for Malawi and 39%
for Rwanda.

G) Women in Power and Decision Making

Due to the various obstacles that women have such as triple role, violence against women, lack
of education etc, their representation and participation in leadership and decision making
position has also been limited. Despite the Government policies of equal opportunity for both men
and women to participate in the democratization of the country, women have not been adequately
represented at all levels of decision-making positions.

Section II: Gender policy and machinery

Since coming to power in 1991, the current government has introduced several laws and
policies to address issues of democracy, decentralization, poverty reduction, institutional
capacity and improvement of the social, economic and political status of the citizenry.
Moreover, the Constitution of the federal government that was proclaimed in 1994 has
domesticated international instruments which Ethiopia has ratified or adopted. Ethiopia has
ratified major international conventions, protocols and treaties.

The issue of gender equality has become an area of concern in development planning during the last
few decades. The marginalization, from development programs, of women for a long period of time
is challenged with changing policy perspectives from Women in Development (WID), which aims to
include women in development projects in order to make the latter more effective, to Gender and
Development (GAD), which aims to address inequalities in women’s and men’s social roles in
relation to development (March et al., 1999).

Despite recently introduced policy instruments and legislative commitments serving women’s
interests, the vast majority of Ethiopian women - particularly in rural areas - are far from being well-
off, independent and direct beneficiaries of development initiatives. Hence, gender mainstreaming,
the integration of gender issues into every aspect of development programs, is aimed at empowering
women to enable them participate in and benefit from the programs equally as men, being supported
by international and national policies.

Global effort had been underway to alleviate the low status of women since the 1990s. In the
framework of the general conferences held in Cairo (1994) and in Beijing (1995), direction was set
and recommendations were made targeting mainly the removal of all the obstacles to gender

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equalities. The outcomes of these conferences recognized that the integration of gender issues into
the general development plan and program of a country is crucial and unavoidable step for overall
sustainable development and that needs to get proper attention by governments.

At international level, the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA), and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
are the main strategies and conventions introduced for the achievement of gender equality. CEDAW
incorporates the following measures that governments have to take to guarantee gender equality:
elimination of discrimination against women in employment opportunities and benefits of service;
ensuring gender equality in all areas of socio-economic life such as legal rights to contracts and
property, and access to financial credit; equality of women in national constitutions; and abolishing
existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that discriminate against women.

The government urged regional governments to make CEDAW part of the regional law and
encouraged them to proceed with the full implementation of the provisions of the Convention
throughout the country, through the enhancement of cooperation between federal and regional
governmental bodies and institutions, to achieve uniformity of results in the implementation of the
Convention. The Committee assigned by the government also recommended that the State party
improve its efforts to systematically monitor progress achieved in the implementation of the
Convention at all levels, and in all areas. Particular focus being placed on the improvement of the
capacity of all public officials in the area of women's human rights, and the seeking of resources
through international development assistance programmes, as necessary. It was also recommended
that the State party launch, at the national level, a comprehensive programme of dissemination of the
Convention, targeting women and men, in order to enhance awareness and promote and protect the
rights of women. However, CEDAW has not been implemented in regional law, even though the
Constitution encourages it.

According to CEDAW committee report (2003), women in the civil services, the largest employer in
the country, remain a small minority. In the legislative and judiciary branches, the situation is worse.
Women are seriously underrepresented. In the Federal Parliament, the highest decision making body,
women hold only 7.7% of the total seats. The figure sheds light on how far the country has to go in
the direction of empowering women. Especially in this key area, the government has a long way to
go. For without a vigorous effort to level the political playing from a gender perspective, the gap in
this area, critical in measuring women’s empowerment, will remain wide. The government cannot
fully meet its CEDAW obligations and commitments so long as the political representation gap
remains as high as it is at present.”

The measures that are included in the BPA are ensuring women’s equal rights and access to
economic resources; elimination of occupational segregation and all forms of employment
discrimination and promoting women’s access to employment, appropriate working conditions and
control over resources; facilitating women’s equal access to markets, trade, information, and

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technology; promotion of harmonization of work and family responsibilities for women and men;
and conducting gender-based research and dissemination of its results for planning and evaluation.

The key commitments of governments and other development partners set in the MDGs include
gender equality and women’s empowerment. The commitments include ensuring universal primary
education for both boys and girls by 2015; elimination of gender disparity at all levels of education
by 2015; and reducing maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Ethiopia
adopted these agreements to promote gender equality and improve the lives of women. As a means
to implement these global agreements, different policies and legislations have also been enacted.
These are the National Policy on Women, National Population Policy, Education Policy, Cultural
Policy, and other legal documents.

The National Policy on Women, introduced in 1993, was the first policy that is specifically related to
the affairs of women (Jelaludin et al., 2001). The objectives of the policy include facilitating
conditions conducive to the speeding up of equality between men and women so that women can
participate in the political, economic and social life of their country on equal terms with men;
ensuring that their right to own property as well as their other human rights are respected and that
they are not excluded from both the enjoyment of the fruits of their labor or performing public
functions and participating in decision making.

Cognizant of the adverse impact of low status of women on the overall economic development in
general and on reproductive health issues in particular, the National Population Policy of the
country, which was also endorsed in 1993, included in its objectives women’s status and health
issues such as reduction of incidence of maternal mortality, improvement of females’ participation at all
levels of education and enhancement of the contraceptive prevalence rate (TGE, 1993).

The 1994 Education and Training Policy affirmed the importance of girls’ education. It focused on
the reorientation of the attitude and values of the society towards recognizing the roles and
contributions of women in development. The policy included gender equality issues such as
increasing girls’ school enrolment ratio, preparing a gender sensitive curriculum, and reducing girls’
dropout and repetition rates (FDRE, 1994).

In an attempt to address customary practices and backward traditions that undermine the roles of
women in society, the National Cultural Policy was enacted in 1997. The main objectives of this
policy are to ensure equal participation in and benefit from cultural activities, and to abolish
traditional harmful practices that violate the rights of women such as early marriage, female genital
mutilation and abduction (FDRE, 1997).

In addition to the aforementioned national policies gender equality is guaranteed by the

Constitution of the country. Article 25 of the FDRE Constitution states that all persons are
equal before the law and it prohibits any discrimination on grounds of gender. In Article 35,

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equality in matters related to employment, equality in acquisition and management of
property, equal participation in policy and decision making, and right of women to plan
families are stated to ensure gender equality. Similarly, Article 42 states the right of female
workers to equal pay for comparable work (FDRE, 1995).

On the basis of the Women's policy of the Country, a considerable number of women's machineries
have been set at different government level ranging from Federal to the lowest administrative unit.
From 1991-1995 the Women's Affairs Office (WAO) is constituted in Prime Minister’s Office with
a mandate of coordinating, facilitating and monitoring of women's affairs activities at national level.
In 1995 this was changed to a separate ministry; the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

The following are some of the duties and responsibilities/mandate of WAO:

 Coordinate, facilitate and monitor of women's affairs activities at national level;
 Create conducive atmosphere for the implementation of women's affairs policy in various
governmental organization and the country in general and monitor its realization,
 Encourage the establishment of women affairs organs in all the regions, central ministries
and public organizations at all levels, as well as the formation of selfinitiated women's
organizations in order to strengthen and expand the activities of the Ethiopian women.
 Coordinate the financial and material aids to be secured from various sources;
 Process information and reports to be received from women's affairs departments and self-
initiated women's organization and provide solutions to their problems in consultation with
higher authorities;
 Organize seminars, workshops and symposiums at the national level

Other Women's Affairs Department (WADs) is also set up in 16 sectoral Ministries, two
Commissions and in all regional governments at department level. According to the policy, these
WADs are accountable to the organization in which they are formed and have equal power with
other departments. The WADs are, therefore, responsible to monitor, follow up and design ways of
implementing the national women's affairs policy effectively in accordance with the powers and
duties of the organization in which they are based. Based on the decentralized development program
of the country, gender focal points have also been established in each Woreda (district) in order to
incorporate gender issue in local development program.

Being placed in the highest governmental office, the 'Women's Affairs Office play a primary role of
facilitating, coordinating and monitoring activities of the Women's affairs departments and bureaus
established in the various line ministries and regions. Although the implementation of the national
policy on women lays mainly with the government machineries, NGOs, Women's Organization and
other stakeholders also play a pivotal role for the successful implementation of the national policy.
Concurrently, it is within this already established institutional mechanism for the advancement of
women that the BPA is being implemented in Ethiopia.

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Even if women in Ethiopia formally have the same rights as men, their situation is difficult and does
not show any sign of improvement. According to the UN’s Equal Rights Index (GDI) on health,
education and work, Ethiopia is ranked as 142 out of 146 countries. Despite the existence of policy
instruments and legislative and institutional commitment to women’s causes, the vast majority of
Ethiopian women, especially in rural areas live in poverty. Their status in the socio-political,
economic and cultural contexts is critical.

The main reasons for the situation are the socio-cultural portrait of women and girls and their
assigned role; existing practices of resource distribution; the division of labor, and the distribution of
opportunities. Moreover there is a considerable gap between the needs and concerns of women and
girls, and the actual effort being made in response to them (CEDAW). In most cases this is
associated with implementation, or lack of implementation, of the policy, laws and constitutionally
given rights of women, and to national poverty.

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