Ethiopia: Violence Against Women - We Must End This Scourge
By Rediet Yibekal
13 December 2014
In Ethiopia, as in many other countries, violence against women is ingrained
in the social fabric. Civil society, governments, and citizens must work
together to raise awareness and eradicate sexism and rape culture.
INTRODUCTION
As a young woman in her 20s, I am deeply concerned by the inhuman treatment
of women worldwide. I try my best not to be very emotional about the
mistreatment that women face, but I live it every day. Because of the dress
with which I choose to express myself, I get stopped and harassed. Because
of my principle to empower and educate myself before I am married, I get
judged and reminded constantly that I should settle down; meanwhile, the
same expectation and judgment don't apply to men of the same age. Because of
my strong opinions against patriarchy, I am labelled as a man-hater or
Westerner-wannabe. My Ethiopian identity is put on trial due to my
understanding of womanhood and my take on feminism that is seen as an
influence of Western culture. This is the reality for most, if not all,
young women in Ethiopia--whether they are from the capital Addis Ababa or
live in other parts of the country.
I was raised in Addis Ababa, surrounded by women who were tough, ambitious,
dedicated and very much assertive. My mother, aunts, grandmother and great
grandmother have always resisted traditional gender roles. These strong
women remain my true inspiration when I challenge issues that affect me and
other women. The women who raised me are neither Westerner-wannabes nor
man-haters; they are just my family, my role models, who simply cannot
tolerate any kind of mistreatment that disempowers them. Therefore, speaking
up for my rights and fighting against sexism has always been part of my
upbringing; it didn't happen overnight just because I read some feminist
literature from the West. (Read more on this in an article I wrote
previously here.)
Violence against women is a global epidemic, present in all corners of the
world. Ethiopia is not a special case. The World Health Organization
estimates that at least one woman in every three has been battered,
assaulted, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime.
The 2013 global and regional findings of violence against women show that
35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical/sexual intimate
partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
In addition, around 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently
living with consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM). As an Ethiopian
woman, I believe it is my responsibility to raise awareness of violence
against women within the context of Ethiopia.
I decided to write this article after I heard about the horrific news of a
16-year-old Ethiopian girl, named Hanna Lalango, who died after being
kidnapped and gang-raped in Addis Ababa. The unfortunate reality is that
Hanna Lalango is now just a statistic, and her attackers have yet to be
brought to justice. While researching to write this article, I was in
constant pain reading about the horrible experiences that my fellow women
have to go through.
What happened to Hanna is inhuman and it is the result of a deep-rooted
societal problem within Ethiopia. I wrote this article to contribute to the
ongoing dialogue on violence against women that has been reignited by
Hanna's case. It is critical to raise awareness and bring to light the
forgotten and untold stories of women who have been victims of violence. In
writing this article, I also wanted to address the missing roles of
government and civil society in tackling violence against women within the
context of Ethiopia. As I focus on Ethiopia, I have no intention of
undermining the Ethiopian culture or of condemning men in general. I believe
that speaking up against the violation of my womanhood should never be seen
as an attack on men or on my culture.
PART ONE: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN ETHIOPIA
Violence against women is a fundamental violation of women's human rights
that affects all women worldwide. Violence against women manifests itself in
different ways including physically, emotionally, sexually and economically.
Domestic violence, sexual violence (including rape) and sexual harassment
are the most common forms of violence against women. Other forms of violence
against women around the world also include sexual exploitation, acid
burning, female genital mutilation, abuse based on perceived sexuality,
parental sex selection, economic abuse, and dowry-related violence. (See
more on EndVAWnow.org)
In Ethiopia, violence against women didn't start yesterday, or the year
before. It has always been there because it is rooted in the male-dominated
culture of discrimination against women, which legitimizes the appropriation
of women's objectification. According to the WHO Multi-country study, 59% of
women in Ethiopia experience sexual abuse by their partners.
Violence against women is very common in Ethiopia, yet it frequently fails
to get proper attention and outrage from the public. When sexual attacks,
for example, occur on girls and women, the abuse victims are left helpless
and humiliated (and sometimes dead, in Hanna's case) while the perpetrators
of the crime often walk free, unpunished. Lack of education and
understanding of what constitutes criminal sexual assault is also one reason
that rape victims fail to report the crime. Some victims wouldn't even speak
a word to police, thinking that no one would believe them, that the police
wouldn't take them seriously and wouldn't investigate the rape case. Fear of
retribution from the perpetrators and the culture of victim blaming also
prevent rape victims from speaking up.
The culture of blaming and stigmatizing victims of rape starts with close
family members, followed by the larger community, and is subtly endorsed by
the media.
What is even more abhorrent is that men who commit rape continue to get away
with it, which gives others the motivation and the reinforcement to commit
more rape without fear. The lack of law enforcement that stands for the
victims of rape, mishandling of sexual assault trials and lack of coherent
evidence collection create loopholes for rapists to walk free and to prey on
other victims.
CASES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN ETHIOPIA
There are many cases of violence against women in Ethiopia (and in the
diaspora). Perhaps due to social media, stories of abuses against women have
been brought to the public's attention more frequently than before, although
the perpetrators of the crimes have rarely been prosecuted. But the question
remains: is sexual violence against women on the rise? Is it concentrated in
urban areas and if so, why? Or is it the social media that amplifies such
stories? Whatever the case may be, there are stories we will never forget.
In October 2011 an Ethiopian airlines flight attendant named Aberash Hailay
lost her eyesight after her ex-husband, Fisseha, stabbed both her eyes with
a sharp knife. In the same year, the horrifying story of Shweya Mulla (who
was the nanny of former Libyan Prime Minister Muammar Gaddafi's grandson)
was brutally abused after Gaddafi's daughter-in-law poured boiled water on
her body for allegedly failing to keep a crying child quiet.
Again in 2011, a Toronto-resident Ethiopian immigrant Amin Kassim, who fired
four bullets into his wife's head, was found guilty of murdering her because
he believed she was having a lesbian affair with a neighbour.
And there was the story of Frehiwot Tadesse, a mother of two, who was shot
several times by her ex-husband in broad daylight in the heart of Addis
Ababa.
The cases of acid attacks against women have also shown a disturbing
increase since the first case involving Kamilat Mehdi and her ex-boyfriend.
We also have heard horrendous stories of violence against Ethiopian domestic
workers in the Middle East. There are few women whose stories received
attention from international media such as this one: Ethiopian migrant women
face violence, rape in Saudi Arabia.
Less than a year ago, there was a case in which a Sudanese court convicted
an Ethiopian woman over gang-rape for her 'indecent acts'.
In another incident, an Ethiopian maid was raped and murdered and her family
was refused blood money settlement.
More disturbing stories:
Ethiopian maid hangs herself to death
Ethiopian women molested
Women such as Alem Dechasa who shouted for help while being dragged down the
street in Lebanon before her death but couldn't get the proper assistance on
time from the Ethiopian consulate.
Saron, who wrote her story as a raped refugee.
The stories are endless. And no doubt there are more stories out there that
are unreported.
What is more saddening is the fact that these stories are forgotten most of
the time, after a few days of cries on the Ethiopian cyberspace. Sooner or
later, the online talks move on to the usual 'anti-government vs pro
government,' or 'Manchester United vs Arsenal' quarrels. The challenge is
how to make people constantly discuss and prioritize topics on violence
against women as much as they prioritize political or sports issues.
IS 'RAPE CULTURE' REAL IN ETHIOPIA?
How is rape interpreted in the Ethiopian context? As a society, how do we
define rape? Countries such as India, the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom and Australia have been described as 'rape cultures' (See more:
Soundararajan, Thenmozhi, 'India's Caste Culture is a Rape Culture'; Bates,
Laura 'Sites like Uni Lad only act to support our everyday rape culture';
Mehta, Diana 'Ottawa student leader blasts "rape culture" on Canadian
campuses'; Eher, Reinhard (2011) International Perspectives on the
Assessment and Treatment of Sexual Offenders: Theory, Practice and
Research).
Rape is a violation of a woman's dignity and sexual freedom as someone else
takes control of her body and hurts her. And it happens every minute
worldwide. Society focuses on educating young girls about safety while boys
aren't taught about rape and why it's wrong. Society blames the rape victim,
why and how she plays role in the process, and justifies the rapist's
action.
But why do we impose a gender double standard?
How many of us know that we are part of rape culture when we encourage male
sexual aggression? Do people really notice the consequences when they
consider catcalling a compliment, abduction as a sacred tradition, or when
they tolerate men who impose their dominance saying, 'I will make you my
bitch', and treat that as sexy? Perhaps we don't realize it but we are
encouraging rape culture when we tell a woman how to wear a dress or where
she should walk. Rape culture is the norm that insults the victims of rape
as trash, that focuses on victim blaming instead of prosecuting the criminal
and that legitimizes the sexual aggression of a rapist with such phrases as
'she asked for it'.
Rape culture is very much real in Ethiopia as it is elsewhere. Rape victim
blaming or shaming, catcalling, marriage by abduction, objectifying women,
encouraging male sexual aggression, and other facets of rape culture have
always existed in Ethiopia and continue to disempower girls and women. When
I talk about 'rape culture', some people might consider it as bashing the
Ethiopian culture, but they have to understand that I am not saying our
culture, as a whole, is a 'rape culture'. I am only pointing out a part of
our culture that dehumanizes women and needs to be changed.
THE ROLE OF MEN
Rape culture in Ethiopia doesn't mean that every man is a rapist or that men
cannot stop rape. If we agree that rape culture is the root cause of
violence, then men can be part of the solution because rape is not just a
'women's issue' and men too have a say in it. Men are and should be capable
of more than animalistic instincts.
In fact, the argument that treats men as incapable of controlling their
urges and therefore women should be regulated in how to dress and act is
problematic. Here is an important read by Nate Pyle that discusses what a
father has to tell his son:
'A lot of people will try and tell you that a woman should watch how she
dresses so she doesn't tempt you to look at her wrongly. Here is what I will
tell you. It is a woman's responsibility to dress herself in the morning. It
is your responsibility to look at her like a human being regardless of what
she is wearing. You will feel the temptation to blame her for your wandering
eyes because of what she is wearing -- or not wearing. But don't. Don't play
the victim. You are not a helpless victim when it comes to your eyes. You
have full control over them. Exercise that control. Train them to look her
in the eyes. Discipline yourself to see her, not her clothes or her body.
The moment you play the victim you fall into the lie that you are simply
embodied reaction to external stimuli unable to determine right from wrong,
human from flesh.
'Look right at me. That is a ridiculous lie.
'You are more than that. And the woman you are looking at is more than her
clothes. She is more than her body. There is a lot of talk about how men
objectify women, and largely, it is true. Humans objectify the things they
love in effort to control them. If you truly love a person, do not reduce
them to an object. The moment you objectify another human -- woman or man,
you give up your humanity.'
This video shows how children watch their parents' actions. It is a good
example for parents to evaluate their actions, behaviours and the languages
they choose in front of their young ones.
Young boys, soon to be men, can contribute a lot to tackling the issue of
violence against women. The silence and complicity of men is a big part of
the problem by itself but there are cases of exception to this rule. For men
to be part of this change-making, traditional gender roles and stereotypes
have to be questioned. Men are responsible for starting conversations with
other male counterparts about what sexism means. Men can play a part by not
laughing at sexist jokes, by avoiding demeaning language referring to
females and by standing up against misogynistic views.
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY, THE ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SYSTEM
In the wake of rape or domestic violence incidents, what naturally proceeds
is the question of where to go and ask for help. This question is very
important in addressing the challenges women face in obtaining justice in
Ethiopia.
Unfortunately, the answer to this critical question is complicated,
politically sensitive and exhausting for violence and rape victims to say
the least. The reason is because the 2009 Ethiopian Charities and Societies
Proclamation (CSP) imposes excessive restrictions on the work of human
rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Ethiopia. (See more here).
This law is applied to the organizations registered as Ethiopian charities
or societies, Ethiopian resident charities or societies or foreign
charities.
According to Amnesty International, as a result of the funding restrictions
in the law, at least 17 organizations, including some of Ethiopia's leading
human rights organizations, have changed their mandate to no longer work on
human rights.
The CSP explicitly forbids 'Ethiopian Charities or Societies' - who may work
on human rights - from receiving more than ten per cent of their funding
from foreign sources. Infringements of the law can lead to heavy fines or
terms of imprisonment for NGO staff. In April 2014, the UN Special
Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association,
Mr. Maina Kiai, said 'The enforcement of these provisions has a devastating
impact on individuals' ability to form and operate associations effectively,
and has been the subject of serious alarm expressed by several United
Nations treaty bodies'.
The impact of the CSP on human rights organizations is not only fear and
uncertainty but also loss of institutional capacity. For example, two of the
country's prominent human rights organizations, Ethiopian Women Lawyers
Association (EWLA), the only major NGO focusing on women's rights advocacy
at the national level, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (HRCO) have
been impacted by the CSP greatly. EWLA conducted indispensable work in the
field of women and justice, advancing draft legislation to improve
protection of women's rights, providing free legal aid for women and
researching and publishing on issues of law and gender. For example, in
2008, EWLA provided free legal aid to 17,357 women. Since the CSP became
law, EWLA has cut 70 per cent of its staff and in 2010-2011 it had
effectively ceased to function, with the exception of volunteers providing a
small amount of free legal aid to women. Before the CSP, the HRCO also
carried out high quality monitoring and documentation of violations through
twelve offices across the country. Since the law was passed HRCO has closed
nine of its offices and has cut at least 75 per cent (more than 40 people)
from its staff. Both EWLA and HRCO continued the same functions but in
reduced capacity using locally-sourced budgets and local volunteers. (Read
more on Ethiopia's regulatory crackdown on foreign-funded NGOs here and also
Amnesty International's report.)
The declining number of NGOs that focus on human rights leaves the Ministry
of Women or the Ministry of Children and Ministry of Youth to perform
advocacy for gender equality and gender education.
But the question remains: how efficient is one ministry while major CSOs are
neither in the picture nor performing to their fullest potential?
Since 2009, UN agencies, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International have
criticized the CSP law. However, the Ethiopian government defended its
policies regularly. Here is one of the posted messages on its Ministry of
Foreign Affairs website:
'These foreign charities and societies are not allowed to engage in
political activities as of right. This is normal practice in most countries,
as political activities, by their very nature, are reserved for citizens. It
is a sovereign state's right to limit the influence of foreigners through
any financing of political activities. Aside from politics, foreign
charities and societies are free to operate and assist in any much-needed
development activities and humanitarian needs of the country.'
The Minister for Women, Youth and Children's Affairs, Zenebu Tadesse,
defended the CSP at the 49th session of the Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She said it reserved the Government's
right to engage exclusively with 'endogenous' charities in the area of
gender equality because foreign funding in that field 'usually did more harm
than good', creating 'worship' of foreign dependence and potentially failing
to pursue the domestic agenda. She said allegations that the CSO law
negatively impacted NGOs from working on women's rights issues were
'unfounded'. (Read more here.)
One of the challenges I faced in writing this article was that I couldn't
find the website for the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs
(MOWCYA). The problem with this is that I couldn't find critical information
directly from the office--information on ongoing projects, their impacts and
their coverage. With this difficult circumstance, I couldn't say more on the
office's efficacy and engagement with the citizens of Ethiopia. As a result,
I could only find limited numbers of reports and conference speeches of the
Ministry published by the EU, UN agencies or the African Union.
Such lack of information and direct access to the ministry limits concerned
citizens from getting basic knowledge of where to go and how to reach the
responsible government officials on important cases such as
#JusticeForHanna.
In addition to the question of the efficacy of the Ministry of Women's
Affairs office, the lack of appropriate response from the criminal justice
system leaves victims helpless. The Ethiopian Criminal Code of 2004 covers
detailed information on sexual abuse, trafficking, and infanticide (See
Criminal Code, 2004, Arts. 596-599, 626-628).
Hanna Lalango was a child according to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC, 1989), which defines a child someone below the age of eighteen
years. This brings a huge gap in the law that may give excuses for
perpetrators instead of advocating for the voiceless such as children.
Getachew Assefa Woldemariam researched extensively on the victimization of
children by the justice process. According to his findings, the legal and
practical procedures of the justice system in Ethiopia don't provide proper
consultation to a child victim and her family; don't encourage the child
victim to testify without fear and tension. Most of the time, the judiciary
grants bail to alleged offenders with a small promise. Getachew points out
that there is a need for legal and administrative reforms and for the
training of justice personnel in order to fill the gaps in the justice
system. (See more on The Predicaments of Child Victims of Crime Seeking
Justice in Ethiopia).
PART TWO: #JUSTICEFORHANNA
Who is Hanna? What is #JusticeForHanna? Why was it created?
The name Hanna Lalango was mentioned in the Ethiopian Reporter Amharic
edition for the first time on 16 November 2014.
The title reads (its Amharic translation): A taxi passenger, a female
student, who was kidnapped and raped lost her life. According to the Amharic
newspaper Hanna was a 10th grade student. On the afternoon of 31 October
2014, Hanna was going back home from school when her attackers kidnapped and
gang-raped her. According to her father's interview on radio, they received
a phone call on the 11th day after her disappearance. That's when she was
found abandoned. She was then taken to various hospitals in an effort to
save her life. But after days of struggling, she was gone.
There are conflicting stories surfacing on social media about who was behind
this horrible incident. But what remains constant is that Hanna died as a
result of a gang rape.
The local media's reporting on this case has only been disappointing. When a
girl is kidnapped and gang-raped, one would expect the media to dig deeper
and to inform the public through investigative reporting that would not only
tell the truth but would also play a proactive role in raising awareness on
the matter. It is beyond disappointing to see a half page post about Hanna's
case on a news media like the Reporter. That says a lot about their take on
rape and violence against women. The media must be at the forefront of
shaming rape and standing up for victims. However, besides not achieving
that, they are not even accurately reporting about the incident.
SOCIAL MEDIA REACTION
#JusticeForHanna is a social media campaign that was inspired by Hanna's
death. The campaign demands justice for Hanna and opens space for dialogue
on gender-based violence. #JusticeForHanna is also a statement that says
young Ethiopian women can't tolerate gender-based violence anymore.
These are the most active social media pages dedicated to #JusticeForHanna:
#JusticeForHanna (Facebook)
#HannaisMySister (Facebook)
THE WAY FORWARD
Today the story of Hanna is happening to another girl elsewhere. Tomorrow
the story of Hanna will be one of those rape stories. And soon we will
continue our daily routine and get caught up in it until we hear about
another heinous story. Some will blame the victims, others will blame the
perpetrators but very few will understand the complexity of the problem and
that the solution is within us.
In a society where gender equality and women's empowerment is not a strong
focus of political and socioeconomic policies, the cycle will continue. If
the government and community leaders don't make public spaces safe for women
and girls, the cycle will continue. If we don't invest our time to ensure
women's economic autonomy and decision-making powers (whether in the house,
in relationships, public space), the cycle will continue. If government and
communities don't include men in finding a collective solution to gender
inequality, the cycle will continue. If civil societies and government
officials don't commit to raising awareness and educating young people
across the country, we will face the same problem again. If government
doesn't allocate funds and resources to strengthen its capacity level so
that it addresses gender-based violence, we will be in the same place as
last year and the year before. If families and communities don't stop
defending perpetrators and silencing the victims' voices, the cycle will
continue. If schools and teachers don't allocate time to teaching students
and peers what gender-based violence means and what its consequences are, we
will be back to square one again.
Every day as we commit to our daily activities, let's think of those girls
who are in need. As part of the solution, let's remember to talk about
gender-based violence at every life corner and let's break the taboo. Let's
acknowledge that both perpetrators and victims come from within us. Young
boys should be educated about respecting young girls. Parents should teach
their sons about consent just as much as they teach their daughters about
safety.
As a society, as a community, we need to address the root causes of violence
against women and not just enforce temporary solutions to its symptoms. The
most important thing to do is to raise awareness: educate boys, girls, men
and women about gender equality, women's rights, and gender-based violence.
Unless there is a coordinated effort by school systems, the government,
civil society, and the general public, it will be very difficult, if not
impossible, to prevent similar crime cases that endanger the lives of girls
and women across the country. Looking at the way gender based violence is
handled in Ethiopia at the moment, it doesn't take a genius to predict that
many more Hannas will be victims of perverts, pimps, and rapists who will
walk free after committing appalling crimes.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES TO READ
UN Women facts
Global and Regional Estimates of Violence against Women: Prevalence and
health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence
Violence Against Woman and Millennium Development Goals
Assessment of sexual violence among street females in Bahirdar town, North
West Ethiopia
Women's experiences of Gender based violence in Tigray, Ethiopia
Ethiopian migrant woman being accused of crimes after facing gang rape in
Sudan
*Rediet Yibekal is a graduate student at the University of Gothenburg,
Sweden, with a background in political science and international relations.
Rediet's major research interests focus on the politics and socio-economic
issues of the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. Rediet regularly
contributes to Kweschn blog, writing analytical articles on Ethiopian
politics, women's empowerment, and other contemporary issues. She is also a
digital media strategist and social media curator of Kweschn Media Team's
twitter account. Rediet is passionate about progressive social change in
Ethiopia, Africa. Follow her: _at_RediTweets and _at_KweschnMediaTM