Women’s Empowerment in Ethiopia: New Solutions to Ancient Problems

This 20-page paper documents the challenges and successes of two projects in 4 regions in Ethiopia that aimed to combine increased access to reproductive health care and family planning with comprehensive social change. In collaboration with partners, community and religious leaders, and medical providers, these programmes have, according to the authors, advanced changes in law enforcement and community values to overcome harmful traditional practices.

The first project, Empowerment of Ethiopian Women, ran from April 2003 to June 2006 and focused on removing obstacles to women's basic rights, both social and economic. The project was designed to promote access to reproductive health/ family planning (RH/FP) services and freedom from sexual exploitation, violence, forced marriage, and other harmful traditional practices (HTPs). The second project, the Women and Girls Empowerment Project, was designed to continue the work, but also expand the focus to adolescent girls in recognition of a need for early intervention. This second project works to increase awareness and education among girls and women about RH/FP and personal rights, as well as to emphasise education, life skills, and leadership development. It also provides educational support to economically poor girls and promotes female education through role models and mentoring.

Key Findings
According to the report, the projects have had a significant impact on the communities involved. They have seen a major drop in the number of girls being circumcised, as well as girls being forced into marriage (in two regions in 2004, 12,950 early marriages were cancelled). Other changes include:

• 3.64 million new users of contraception;
• 7.6 million community/religious leaders trained in RH/FP, gender advocacy and HTPs, many of which have become strong advocates among their communities/ congregations;
• 1,200 judges, police officers, and prosecutors trained in implementation of new laws, and the reasoning behind women's rights, with the result that law enforcement personnel are now responding to women's requests for protection under the law;
• 122 girls received scholarships to stay in school;
• 500 fistula cases have been referred for repair;
• 1,500 girls have been trained as peer mentors, and 156 girls clubs have been formed; and
• 25.3 million adolescents are receiving RH and adolescent health messages (both in and out of school).

According to the report, the impact of these many activities is cumulative, with a heightened level of awareness of the importance of improving women's status and well-being throughout society. By integrating women's reproductive health needs with economic, educational, social, and legal concerns, people are adopting gender sensitivity across society. The authors propose that by sensitising all levels of society, from national, to regional, to local leaders and throughout local communities, in conjunction with the different interventions, the transformation of beliefs and behaviour takes on a momentum of its own.

The report concludes that gender responsive programmes should recognise that practices such as FGC, early marriage, abduction, rape, lack of access to and control over resources, and the absence of decision-making and negotiation power all negatively affect women's reproductive health and rights. Because many women have limited control over their sexual lives and contraceptive use, integrating gender issues into reproductive health and HIV/AIDS programme interventions becomes critical. Active male involvement in reproductive and family caregiving enhances responsible parenthood and reduces gender-based violence that affects women’s reproductive health and rights.

According to the authors, more work has to be done to provide women and girls with access to education and information. Women and girls continue to need economic support, as poverty exacerbates their isolation, and earning power enhances their community and family status. Progress also demands that entire communities take individual and collective measures against gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices.