Ethiopia

                                                                                                                   Erin Bolden

                                                                                                               October 17^th, 2013

                                                                                                        Women Studies

      I am going to dicuss the issues that women encounter in Ethiopa. Ethiopa is one of the poorest country so with that being said there is things that need to be discussed. There is a lot of issues as far as political , social, economic but the three that I am going to focus on. The specific gender that I am going to focus on is Women. And talk about their  health, violence and abuse that they have to go through

 and lastly their culture and traditions in general. There culture and traditions aren't an issue but I am focusing on what women do in Ethiopia and how it is different in America.

                                                            Ethiopia’s Health

    Ethiopia is one of the poorest country, with 45% of its 77 million populations living below the poverty line.  75 % of the population lack access to clean water and 80% of them live without proper sanitation. Ethiopia  is a state that has the highest with maternal deaths. The maternal mortality ratio in Ethiopia is 676 for every 100,000. Large majority of Ethiopian women are currently living in poverty. They are going through harmful cultural practices like the female genital cutting, and gender discrimination, like making them  have unattended births." About 80% percent of all maternal deaths in Ethiopia are due to hemorrhage, infection, unsafe abortions, HIV/AIDS and Malaria" said a senior health ministry maternal health expert, Frewolve Gebreniwot.  As well as these circumstances causes death, at least 500,000 Ethiopian women and girls miss out on skilled healthcare during their delivers and end up suffering complications like Obstetric Fistula. The female cutting is among one of the most culturally problems affecting women’s health and solutions that are effective for them are really hard to come by. 74% of the Ethiopian women have been through female genital cutting.  1% of women ages around 15-19 has had this done and 74% has around the age 20-24.  89 % of Ethiopian women do not have access to the right obstetric care to help through their health problems. They use 5.7 percent of their GDP on health.  The affects from the female genital cutting is urinary, reproductive tract infection, death by severe bleeding and have a higher increase in susceptibility to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and other blood borne diseases. In their culture a women who isn't circumcised is looked at being promiscuous and a bad thing to their family. Also it protects their virginity.

                                             Ethiopia’s Violence and abuse

    Intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence against women and an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Most common forms of violence against women are physical, sexual and emotional abuse by husbands or their significant other. 58% of women have experienced physical abuse by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. About 8% of women were abducted and forced into their marriage.  They are forced to get married at a young age.  In 2000 the acceptable age of marriage for women was around the ages 12-14 but some married at the age of 9. That wasn't against the law but they recently changed that. In urban areas the marriage age has always been 18.  In marriages you are required to give out gifts. If the women's family is poor she will have to be hidden in her house for three months. Just because her family doesn't have the money to cater to her husband. After her three months of being hidden away that is when she can be presented to the community and to her future husband’s family.   69% percent of women in Ethiopia say it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife for one or more specific reasons such as burning food, arguing with him, going out without telling him, neglecting the children and refusing to have sex with him. Rape is also very common.  There is violence against women because in society women aren’t treated equally as men are treated. So they take advantage of them. They even have to go through this when they are pregnant. 8% reported that they have experimented physical abuse during at least one pregnancy. They are getting kicked and punched in their abdoman. The perpetrators are usually are the fathers of the babies or it is the family. Violence is taking place in their homes, on the streets, in schools, the workplace, farm areas, and as well as refugee camps. In a refugee camp that is a place where a person is demonstrated their view of power.  Violence against women is not only a manifestation of sex inequality, but also serves to maintain this unequal balance of power. Also perpetrators consciously use violence as a mechanism for subordination. Men think their jobs aren't accomplished unless they physically abuse women. Violence against women is abnormal and isn't healthy. These women had experienced sexual abuse at the age of 15 and were forced into it. They didn't want to seek help. A lot of them didn’t want to report it because they were scared that the perpetrator would come after them and they got in their head that wasn’t” normal or “not serious”. They were just too ashamed, and didn't have any self -assurance. Not speaking out has a lot to do with their Ethiopian culture.  They show that they are the head of the household and they have more power. Recent research showed that violence against women is the most common problem among women in refugee camps. Refugee women are being victimized at least twice in their lives. These women do so much not only for their husbands but also their families. They are the ones doing the house work, going out trying to find food for them to eat but they still get treated like this. And this is not right at all.

                                               Ethiopia’s Culture and Traditions

   When a woman is pregnant, it isn’t really discussed until the pregnancy is noticeable. When they are pregnant they think doing house work and as well as going to work is okay. They believe keeping active during their pregnancy quickens their labor. They avoid eating hot mustard when they are pregnant because they think it causes miscarriage.  They believe that buying things for the baby before it is born is bad luck.  In their culture it isn't acceptable to be pregnant and not be married. That will being shame to their family. When the baby is actually born they can do a day called “tasting day". That's when the mother and her friends celebrate the birth of their baby. The mother is being catered to by her friends. They are doing special dances and sampling and tasting the food that the mother couldn’t eat while she was pregnant. Only women can attend this event. This is just like a baby shower that Americans have but it’s without gifts and it’s after the baby is born.

When the women are in labor the man cannot be in the labor room. She can allow her mother or a friend of hers. Some delivers are assisted of a midwife that is a member of the mother's community. After the baby is born the mother rests in the house for 40 and is separated from their husbands and is not sexually active during that time. Also they eat something called genfo. They believe that it helps gain their back strength and heal quickly.

  In conclusion women in Ethiopia suffer in so many ways. Alot if it comes from individuals that know them the most like their husband and or their families. Ethiopia women do the best that they can do to help provide their family but they don't get the gratitude in return that they should get.

                                                   

                                                   Works Cited

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Manam, Alemayehu G. "Ethiopia Domestic Violence « Ethiopian News." Ethiopian Review. N.p., Sept. 2011. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Molakign, Athalegn. "Ethiopian Cultural Profile." — EthnoMed. N.p., 1996. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Moore, Ami R. "Springer Science+ Business Media." Types of Violence against Women and Factors Influencing Intimate Partner Violence in Togo ( West Africa) (2008): 778-83. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

Seager, Joni. The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World: Fourth Edition. N.p.: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Tsehai, Tiberah. "Domestic Violence, a Crisis in the Ethiopian Community?  | TsehaiNY.com." TsehaiNYcom RSS. N.p., 20 July 2008. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.